BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 311,426 Shares of Ryanair Holdings PLC $RYAAY

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets sharply reduced its Ryanair stake, selling 311,426 shares in the fourth quarter and cutting its position by 76.3% to 96,664 shares worth about $7.0 million.
• Ryanair reported mixed quarterly results: earnings per share of -$0.86 beat analyst expectations, but revenue of $2.70 billion fell short of the $3.08 billion consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67, even as some firms recently issued downgrades.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Free Report) by 76.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,664 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 311,426 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Ryanair were worth $6,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Ryanair by 2.7% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,465,187 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,250,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,457 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ryanair by 9.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 30,738,934 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,851,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,911 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ryanair by 13.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,176,538 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $191,291,000 after purchasing an additional 376,145 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Ryanair by 645,657.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,789,672 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $201,386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA raised its holdings in Ryanair by 3.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 1,467,028 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $88,344,000 after purchasing an additional 47,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $58.00 on Wednesday. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 1-year low of $53.14 and a 1-year high of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $58.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.11. The company has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.15.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.09. Ryanair had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 13.95%.The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $233,387.73. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Eddie Joseph Wilson sold 21,080 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $548,290.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,447,001.26. This trade represents a 13.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,607 shares of company stock valued at $2,918,397.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RYAAY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore upgraded Ryanair from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ryanair from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ryanair from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.67.

Ryanair Company 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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