JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up premarket — JetBlue opened at $5.11 vs. a $4.55 close (about +11.5%) and was last near $5.03 on heavy volume (~12.7M shares).
• Analyst views are mixed: several firms raised targets (some to $6) and TD Cowen upgraded to a strong-buy, but the MarketBeat consensus remains "Reduce" with a $4.88 price target.
• Fundamentals remain weak: the company missed Quarterly EPS (‑$0.49 vs. ‑$0.45 expected), reports negative profitability, and carries a high debt-to-equity ratio (3.65).

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.55, but opened at $5.11. JetBlue Airways shares last traded at $5.0250, with a volume of 12,745,527 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on JBLU. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of JetBlue Airways from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $4.88.

JetBlue Airways Stock Up 11.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.82.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.45) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 25.62% and a negative net margin of 6.64%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.21) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $55,166,000 after buying an additional 5,591,470 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 105.3% during the second quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,487,425 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $23,212,000 after buying an additional 2,814,870 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,728,754 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $21,516,000 after buying an additional 219,622 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 10.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,513,312 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $19,091,000 after buying an additional 412,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 1,157.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,356,021 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,270,000 after buying an additional 3,089,226 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline's core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international routes.

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