Investors Purchase Large Volume of Azul Put Options (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 6,075 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 125% compared to the average daily volume of 2,695 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AZUL shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Azul to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Azul from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Azul from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $6.70 to $4.00 in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.59.

Azul Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AZUL traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3.12. The company had a trading volume of 62,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,003,489. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 1.98. Azul has a 52-week low of $2.02 and a 52-week high of $11.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.58.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.63). The company had revenue of $800.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $791.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.81) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Azul will post -1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azul

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Azul by 106.3% in the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,816,000 after buying an additional 2,295,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Azul by 2,466.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 575,344 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its holdings in Azul by 13,831.7% during the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 290,465 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of Azul by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,354,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 100,639 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Azul during the third quarter worth about $306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Azul Company Profile

Azul SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in Brazil and internationally. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 1,000 daily departures to 160 destinations through a network of 300 non-stop routes with an operating fleet of 183 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 189 aircraft.