JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Climb 13.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• JetBlue shares rose 13.1% in Wednesday mid-day trading, climbing from a previous close of $3.18 to about $3.60.
• Analyst sentiment remained cautious: the consensus rating was “Reduce,” based on nine Hold and four Sell ratings, with a consensus price target of $4.89.
• JetBlue reported a quarterly loss of $0.60 per share, missing the $0.55 loss analysts expected; revenue of $2.81 billion also fell short of estimates.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 13.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $3.59 and last traded at $3.5950. 13,425,126 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 26,468,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBLU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of JetBlue Airways from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.75 to $5.25 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, JetBlue Airways presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $4.89.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 10.8%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.92, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.32 and a beta of 1.90.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The transportation company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 56.96% and a negative net margin of 10.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.40) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,022,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 91.1% in the third quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 2,297,994 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,610 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 509.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 649,600 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,871,000 after acquiring an additional 543,017 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 95.6% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 553,212 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 270,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,725,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a U.S.-based passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation to destinations across the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and select locations in Europe. The company operates primarily from focus cities including New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles, with a network designed to connect major metropolitan areas and leisure destinations.

JetBlue offers multiple classes and service options, including standard economy seating, extra-legroom EvenMore seats and its premium Mint service on select routes.

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.