Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU)

Key Points

• JetBlue saw unusual options activity, with traders purchasing 41,858 call options—44% above the typical volume of 29,103.
• Institutional investors made significant moves into the stock, while CFO Ursula Hurley sold 77,253 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; institutions now own 83.71% of JetBlue.
• JetBlue shares traded at $4.46, near their one-year low, and analysts maintained a cautious outlook with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $5.41.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 41,858 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 44% compared to the typical volume of 29,103 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at JetBlue Airways

In related news, CFO Ursula Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total transaction of $444,977.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 211,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,930.24. The trade was a 26.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 81,253 shares of company stock valued at $465,897 over the last three months. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,022,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,549,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,336,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,748,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in JetBlue Airways by 235.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,246,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

JetBlue Airways stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4.46. The company had a trading volume of 8,321,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,223,018. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -1.87 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.25 and a 200 day moving average of $5.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.63. JetBlue Airways has a one year low of $3.87 and a one year high of $6.62.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.21) earnings per share. JetBlue Airways's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that JetBlue Airways will post -2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "underperform" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $5.41.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation NASDAQ: JBLU is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and select destinations in Europe. The company serves leisure and business travelers through a network connecting major cities, focus cities and vacation destinations.

JetBlue offers several travel products and services, including standard economy seating, premium Mint service on select routes, and EvenMore seating with additional legroom and other benefits.

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