JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

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) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 changing hands.

The transportation company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.15. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 15.33% and a negative net margin of 4.22%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on JBLU. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.25 to $4.25 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of JetBlue Airways to a "sell" rating in a report 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded JetBlue Airways from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.16.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,181 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 2,284 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,679 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 237,596 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 25,339 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 67,781 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 3,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

JetBlue Airways Trading Down 3.4%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.23. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.08 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.01.

About JetBlue Airways

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.