JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $4.23, but opened at $4.41. JetBlue Airways shares last traded at $4.68, with a volume of 9,994,669 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JBLU. Citigroup lifted their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.25 to $5.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on JetBlue Airways from $7.00 to $4.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded JetBlue Airways to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group set a $3.00 target price on JetBlue Airways and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.25 to $4.25 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, JetBlue Airways presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.16.

JetBlue Airways Stock Down 3.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $4.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.53.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $0.02. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 3.12% and a negative return on equity of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.43) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JBLU. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 14,595.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,599,279 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $130,470,000 after buying an additional 16,486,326 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 4th quarter valued at $1,796,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 119,072 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 49,712 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 4th quarter valued at $421,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.