Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• VLRS fell to a new 52-week low of $5.76, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling continued downward momentum.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $9.40, while Zacks downgraded it to “strong sell” and Goldman Sachs cut its target to $7.70.
• Fundamentals remain pressured, with a quarterly EPS loss of $1.11, negative margins and return on equity, a high debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78, and analysts expecting a full-year loss of $2.49 per share.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $5.76 and last traded at $5.7650, with a volume of 296,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLRS. Zacks Research lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $8.60 to $7.70 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.40.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $668.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 1.81. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $6.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.47.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by ($0.03). Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 93.91% and a negative net margin of 5.71%. The company had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $854.70 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post -2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 55.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 588,981 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,264,000 after buying an additional 209,978 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,840,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter valued at $1,279,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter valued at $1,103,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter valued at $860,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.32% of the company's stock.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Company Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAB. de C.V. is the holding company for Volaris, an ultra-low-cost airline headquartered in Mexico. The company provides scheduled passenger air transportation, offering primarily point-to-point flights at affordable fares, along with ancillary services such as baggage, seat selection and other travel-related products.

Volaris began operations in 2006 and has developed an extensive domestic network in Mexico, connecting major cities with leisure and business destinations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.