Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded VLRS from “hold” to “strong sell,” while overall analyst sentiment remains “hold,” with three Buy, three Hold and three Sell ratings and an average price target of $9.40.
• Shares fell to $5.89, near the company’s one-year low of $5.79, amid weak financial metrics including a 6.78 debt-to-equity ratio, negative net margin and projected full-year losses.
• Volaris reported a quarterly EPS loss of $1.11, slightly worse than the $1.08 analyst consensus, although revenue of $859 million exceeded expectations of $854.7 million.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $8.60 to $7.70 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.40.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Stock Performance

Shares of VLRS stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $5.89. The company had a trading volume of 764,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.47. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion has a one year low of $5.79 and a one year high of $10.80. The firm has a market cap of $687.36 million, a PE ratio of -3.59 and a beta of 1.81.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported ($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by ($0.03). Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 93.91% and a negative net margin of 5.71%. The company had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $854.70 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion will post -2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,103,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,840,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 588,981 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 209,978 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter worth approximately $470,000. Institutional investors own 53.32% of the company's stock.

About Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAB. de C.V. is the holding company for Volaris, an ultra-low-cost airline headquartered in Mexico. The company provides scheduled passenger air transportation, offering primarily point-to-point flights at affordable fares, along with ancillary services such as baggage, seat selection and other travel-related products.

Volaris began operations in 2006 and has developed an extensive domestic network in Mexico, connecting major cities with leisure and business destinations.

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