JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU – Get Free Report) shares shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $4.03 and last traded at $4.09. 2,132,815 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 18,577,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JBLU shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.25 to $4.25 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $7.15 to $4.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut JetBlue Airways from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $9.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $3.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.09.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 3.2 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.10.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 8.57% and a negative return on equity of 9.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that JetBlue Airways Co. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at JetBlue Airways

In related news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,747.50. This represents a 26.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nik Mittal bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.14 per share, with a total value of $614,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 116,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,960.02. This represents a 608.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 176,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 50,606 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 164.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About JetBlue Airways

(Get Free Report)

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.

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