Boeing (BA.US) Falls Nearly 2% As It Launches $19B Stock Sale

Boeing (BA.US) opened lower on Monday and fell nearly 2% as of writing, to $152.20. The company has started a nearly $19bn stock sale, one of the largest in corporate history, to address liquidity needs, avoid a credit rating downgrade to junk, and support its strained balance sheet. It plans to sell 90mn shares of common stock and about $5bn of preferred stock, which, based on Friday's closing price of $155.01, would total nearly $14bn for the common stock portion. The total could rise to about $21.8bn if the overallotment option is exercised.

The strike, now in its seventh week, has paralyzed production of the company's flagship 737 Max jetliner. Boeing needs to fund a production ramp-up after the strike. The market widely believes that addressing the liquidity crisis is Boeing's top priority.