JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Up 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU)’s stock price traded up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $7.22 and last traded at $7.30. 4,076,866 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 23,176,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on JBLU. UBS Group decreased their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of JetBlue Airways to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.85 to $7.60 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.51.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 8.57% and a negative return on equity of 9.29%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that JetBlue Airways Co. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at JetBlue Airways

In related news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,747.50. This represents a 26.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nik Mittal purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.14 per share, with a total value of $614,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 116,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,960.02. This represents a 608.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth approximately $787,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 136.1% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 245,657 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 141,605 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 56.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 922,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,054,000 after buying an additional 334,032 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,396,530 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,977,000 after purchasing an additional 107,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 13.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,661,742 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,141,000 after purchasing an additional 663,865 shares in the last quarter. 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.