JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) was upgraded by stock analysts at UBS Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $3.50 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $4.00. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.27% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.75 to $5.25 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Seaport Research Partners cut JetBlue Airways from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.98.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

NASDAQ:JBLU opened at $2.91 on Monday. JetBlue Airways has a one year low of $2.87 and a one year high of $6.62. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that JetBlue Airways will post -2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ursula 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 211,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,930.24. This trade represents a 26.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,253 shares of company stock worth $474,477. Corporate insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBLU. U S Global Investors Inc. increased its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,542,536 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,498,000 after buying an additional 813,782 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,022,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,549,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 91.1% during the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 2,297,994 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,610 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 235.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,246,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,500 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a U.S.-based passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation to destinations across the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and select locations in Europe. The company operates primarily from focus cities including New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles, with a network designed to connect major metropolitan areas and leisure destinations.

JetBlue offers multiple classes and service options, including standard economy seating, extra-legroom EvenMore seats and its premium Mint service on select routes.