JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Citigroup

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $5.30 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential downside of 14.38% from the stock’s previous close.

JBLU has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of JetBlue Airways from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Seaport Research Partners upgraded JetBlue Airways from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.40.

JetBlue Airways Stock Down 2.7%

NASDAQ JBLU opened at $6.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. JetBlue Airways has a fifty-two week low of $3.87 and a fifty-two week high of $6.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 1.74.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.21) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 35,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,941.39. This trade represents a 47.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 111,253 shares of company stock valued at $629,597 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 85.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 17.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 813,782 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 105.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,814,870 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 10.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,513,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,091,000 after purchasing an additional 412,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 1,157.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,356,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.