Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Key Points

• Ryanair has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts, including Raymond James, maintain a strong-buy rating with a target price increase to $76.00, suggesting confidence in Ryanair's performance.
• Ryanair's stock has shown growth, trading up 1.8% to $57.79, while the company reported earnings exceeding expectations with $1.74 per share against a consensus estimate of $1.49.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $76.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Ryanair in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ryanair from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Zacks Research lowered Ryanair from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oddo Bhf upgraded Ryanair from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Ryanair Trading Up 1.8%

RYAAY stock traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.79. 1,443,356 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,765. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $61.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.37. Ryanair has a one year low of $38.52 and a one year high of $67.18.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 27.91% and a net margin of 14.42%. Research analysts predict that Ryanair will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ryanair

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 4.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,324,514 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,242,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233,059 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its position in Ryanair by 0.8% during the second quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 4,790,231 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $276,253,000 after buying an additional 36,559 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Ryanair by 7.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,909,138 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $165,630,000 after buying an additional 266,343 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ryanair by 23.8% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,800,393 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $161,499,000 after buying an additional 539,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in Ryanair during the first quarter worth approximately $118,071,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company's stock.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled-passenger airline services in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and internationally. It is also involved in the provision of various ancillary services, such as non-flight scheduled and Internet-related services, as well as in-flight sale of beverages, food, duty-free, and merchandise; and markets car hire, travel insurance, and accommodation services through its website and mobile app.

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