JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Stock Price Up 6.4% After Analyst Upgrade

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) shares were up 6.4% on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $5.00 to $6.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. JetBlue Airways traded as high as $5.20 and last traded at $5.0350. Approximately 10,489,398 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 20,337,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.73.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.10 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.10.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JBLU. U S Global Investors Inc. increased its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,728,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,516,000 after purchasing an additional 219,622 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 783.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 164,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 146,047 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 112,099 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 33,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.76.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 6.64% and a negative return on equity of 24.93%. JetBlue Airways’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.21) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

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.