JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• JetBlue Airways shares increased by over 4% following an earnings report that beat expectations, with the stock opening at $4.56 compared to a previous close of $4.36.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.16), surpassing the analysts' consensus estimate of ($0.37).
• Despite the positive earnings, JetBlue faces challenges with multiple analysts rating the stock as a sell, reflecting concerns about its financial health and market performance.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $4.36, but opened at $4.56. JetBlue Airways shares last traded at $4.55, with a volume of 13,785,464 shares trading hands.

The transportation company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 4.22% and a negative return on equity of 15.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBLU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup set a $5.00 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of JetBlue Airways from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group set a $3.00 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JBLU. FMR LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 14,595.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,599,279 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $130,470,000 after purchasing an additional 16,486,326 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 491.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,274,457 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $33,597,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552,057 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 3,729.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,436,202 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,009,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346,482 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 5,203,155 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,624,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $4.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of -3.88 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.