Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS) Shares Climb 7.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• VLRS shares rose 7.7% to $6.054 during Tuesday trading, although volume was 52% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from nine analysts, with a consensus price target of $9.40; recent firms issued both downgrades and a UBS price-target increase.
• The company missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.23 per share versus the anticipated $0.05 loss, despite revenue of $1.04 billion exceeding estimates. Volaris also reported negative profitability metrics and substantial leverage, including a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) was up 7.7% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $6.09 and last traded at $6.0540. 300,819 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 622,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research cut shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $8.60 to $7.70 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.40.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.55 and a 200-day moving average of $7.80. The stock has a market cap of $715.33 million, a PE ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.81.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The transportation company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.18). Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 93.91% and a negative net margin of 5.71%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $973.74 million. Research analysts predict that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post -2.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $4,264,000 after purchasing an additional 209,978 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the first quarter worth about $1,840,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,103,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $860,000. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Company Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAB. de C.V., operating under the Volaris brand, is a Mexican ultra-low-cost airline. The company provides scheduled passenger air transportation, along with ancillary services such as baggage, seat selection and other travel-related offerings.

Volaris began operations in 2006 and serves a broad network of destinations in Mexico, the United States, and Central America. Its business model emphasizes affordable base fares, high aircraft utilization and the separate sale of optional services.

Controladora Vuela is headquartered in Mexico City and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VLRS.

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.