JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Trading Up 7.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) rose 7.3% during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a neutral rating. Citigroup now has a $6.00 price target on the stock. JetBlue Airways traded as high as $5.62 and last traded at $5.6550. Approximately 4,271,599 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 20,945,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.27.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, JetBlue Airways currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBLU. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,021,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,241,000 after buying an additional 1,011,279 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in JetBlue Airways during the third quarter valued at $1,129,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 17.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,951,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,600,000 after acquiring an additional 291,758 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 372.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 485,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 383,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soviero Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,369,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.57 and a beta of 1.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.93 and its 200 day moving average is $4.78.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 24.93% and a negative net margin of 6.64%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.21) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -0.69 earnings per share 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.