JetBlue Airways Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:JBLU)

Key Points

• Traders purchased 55,789 call options on JetBlue on Friday — an 87% increase versus typical daily call volume — while shares rose to $4.93 on above-average trading volume.
• Wall Street's consensus is a Reduce rating with an average target of $4.88, reflecting mixed analyst moves (e.g., Goldman Sachs cut to $3.50, Citigroup to $4.40, Evercore raised to $6.00).
• Fundamentals look weak: JetBlue missed quarterly EPS (‑$0.87 vs. ‑$0.72 est.), has negative margins and ROE, high leverage (debt/equity 4.25), and analysts expect about ‑2.37 EPS for the fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 55,789 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 87% compared to the typical daily volume of 29,843 call options.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,517 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 639.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,839 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 5,049 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 12,727.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $4.40 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $4.88.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $4.93. 30,614,806 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,652,270. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $4.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.25. The company has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.75. JetBlue Airways has a 12-month low of $3.84 and a 12-month high of $6.50.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 7.78% and a negative return on equity of 32.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.59) EPS. Analysts expect that JetBlue Airways will post -2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

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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