Short Interest in JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) Expands By 26.7%

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 66,720,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the February 28th total of 52,650,000 shares. Approximately 22.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 22,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBLU traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.75. 18,700,688 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,343,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 1.80. JetBlue Airways has a fifty-two week low of $4.45 and a fifty-two week high of $8.31.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 9.31% and a negative net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JBLU shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut JetBlue Airways from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.85 to $7.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.33.

Insider Transactions at JetBlue Airways

In related news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,747.50. The trade was a 26.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nik Mittal bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $614,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 116,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,960.02. This trade 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.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBLU. FMR LLC raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 14,595.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,599,279 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,470,000 after acquiring an additional 16,486,326 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 491.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,274,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,597,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552,057 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 3,729.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,436,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,009,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346,482 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,513,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 5,203,155 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About JetBlue Airways

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.