Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Ryanair stake by 53.6% in the first quarter, selling 93,705 shares and leaving it with 81,103 shares valued at about $4.69 million.
• Ryanair reported quarterly EPS of ($0.86), beating analyst estimates of ($0.95), though revenue of $2.70 billion came in below expectations.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $77.67, despite recent insider selling activity.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 53.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,103 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 93,705 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ryanair were worth $4,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RYAAY. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ryanair by 280.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 472 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ryanair by 76.0% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Ryanair by 2,929.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 515 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Ryanair by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Ryanair by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 653 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RYAAY opened at $64.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.69 and a 200 day moving average of $63.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a one year low of $53.14 and a one year high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.95) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 13.95%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryanair

In other Ryanair news, CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of Ryanair stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $233,387.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 17,550 shares in the company, valued at $456,475.50. This trade represents a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Juliusz Grzegorz Komorek sold 14,053 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $365,518.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,203,326.64. The trade was a 23.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,607 shares of company stock worth $2,918,397.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RYAAY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore upgraded shares of Ryanair from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ryanair from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ryanair has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.67.

Ryanair Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe's largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.

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