Traders Purchase Large Volume of JetBlue Airways Put Options (NASDAQ:JBLU)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Traders purchased 53,805 JetBlue put options, 64% above the stock’s typical daily put volume.
• Insiders reduced holdings: Insiders sold 111,253 shares worth approximately $629,597 over the past three months, including sizable sales by the CFO and a director.
• Analysts remain cautious: Despite JetBlue shares rising 2.9% to $6.41, the stock carries an average “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $5.54; the company remains unprofitable, with analysts expecting a full-year loss.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 53,805 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 32,829 put options.

Insider Transactions at JetBlue Airways

In related news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total transaction of $444,977.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 211,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,930.24. The trade was a 26.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.41, for a total transaction of $173,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,941.39. This trade represents a 47.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 111,253 shares of company stock valued at $629,597 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 131.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 90,534 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 51,377 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 185,801 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 8,053 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 6.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,789,448 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $23,085,000 after acquiring an additional 274,892 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways in the first quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 10.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,678 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on JBLU shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.40 to $6.60 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $5.54.

JetBlue Airways Stock Up 2.9%

NASDAQ JBLU traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $6.41. The company had a trading volume of 41,410,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,433,000. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company's fifty day moving average is $5.48 and its 200 day moving average is $5.20. JetBlue Airways has a 52-week low of $3.87 and a 52-week high of $6.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 1.73.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways will post -2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline's core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international 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.