JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Cut to “Neutral” at Seaport Research Partners

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) was downgraded by equities researchers at Seaport Research Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, JetBlue Airways currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

Shares of JBLU stock opened at $5.65 on Monday. JetBlue Airways has a twelve month low of $3.87 and a twelve month high of $6.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. JetBlue Airways’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.21) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at JetBlue Airways

In other JetBlue Airways news, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.41, for a total transaction of $173,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,479 shares in the company, valued at $191,941.39. This represents a 47.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total transaction of $444,977.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 211,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,930.24. The trade was a 26.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 111,253 shares of company stock worth $629,597 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591,470 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,022,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 1,157.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,356,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,226 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 105.3% in the 2nd quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,487,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,212,000 after buying an additional 2,814,870 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,549,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline’s core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international routes.