UBS Group AG Purchases 225,336 Shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. $VLRS

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 108.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 225,336 additional shares for a total of 432,989 shares worth about $3.85 million.
• The company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, posting EPS of -$0.62 versus analyst expectations of -$0.06, even as revenue came in at $770 million.
• Sentiment among analysts remains mixed, with an average Hold rating and an average price target of $8.86, while the stock recently traded down to $6.87.

UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Free Report) by 108.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,989 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 225,336 shares during the period. UBS Group AG's holdings in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion were worth $3,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,720,522 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,353,000 after acquiring an additional 565,250 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,139,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,611,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 281,473 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,626 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 144.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 261,982 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 154,889 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

In related news, Director William Dean Donovan sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.33, for a total value of $366,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,046,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,327,546.50. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VLRS opened at $6.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 1 year low of $4.15 and a 1 year high of $10.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.04. The firm has a market cap of $801.28 million, a P/E ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 1.77.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.56). Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative net margin of 3.96% and a negative return on equity of 50.26%. The business had revenue of $770.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.60 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post -2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VLRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $7.60 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.86.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañia de Aviacion, SAB de CV NYSE: VLRS is a Mexico-based airline holding company whose primary business is the operation of low-cost scheduled air transportation services. Through its principal operating subsidiary, Volaris, the company provides passenger and cargo flights on domestic and international routes. Its business model emphasizes unbundled ancillary services and point-to-point operations designed to offer competitive fares across its network.

Volaris serves more than 120 routes linking major metropolitan areas and secondary cities in Mexico, the United States and Central America.

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