International Consolidated Airlines Group LSE: (IAG) has been a poor performer so far this month. Concerns over the delta-variant Covid strain has forced the IAG share price way below analysts expectations. Yesterday’s closing price of 164.46p is almost 40% below the consensus 12-month target of 227.5p. So is IAG starting to look attractive down here?
The Anglo-Spanish airline group which owns the British Airways brand has understandably had a bumpy ride since the start of the Covid pandemic. However, despite signs of normality returning to the world, the IAG share price has remained under pressure. Furthermore, Monday’s close has pushed the stock back into negative territory for 2021.
However, according to Bloomberg, out of the 28 analysts covering IAG, 20 rate the company a buy, with just one giving it a sell recommendation. So have the analyst fumbled the ball, or could IAG soon start to prove them right?
The IAG share price has been trading in a bearish trend channel for the last 5 months and is more than 25% below the March 222.10p high. Furthermore, IAG has broken below the 200-day moving average and appears to be heading to the lower end of the trend channel at 150p, in line with my colleague’s forecast last week.
Technically speaking, the chart paints a depressing picture for IAG. And the outlook remains negative until the share price can recover the 200-day average at 177.00p. In that event, the 50 DMA at 179.92p comes next, followed by the 100 at 190.83. However, the bears are likely to remain in control of the share price until that happens. Although, as soon as the world gets a handle on the more virulent virus strain, the share price may start to look very cheap indeed. When that is, it will be hard to say, so for now, investors may wish to remain on the sidelines until a clearer picture emerges.
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