UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS) Stock

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target for Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (VLRS) from $9 to $11 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 31.19% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “hold” consensus and an average price target of $9.41; four analysts recommend buying, five are neutral and two recommend selling.
• VLRS reported a quarterly loss of $1.11 per share, slightly worse than expectations, despite revenue of $859 million exceeding estimates. The stock traded at $8.38, while the company continued to show weak profitability and high leverage.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $9.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 31.19% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VLRS. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $7.60 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $7.40 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.41.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Trading Up 1.0%

VLRS traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $8.38. The company had a trading volume of 845,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 697,748. The company has a market cap of $977.69 million, a PE ratio of -5.11 and a beta of 1.72. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion has a 12-month low of $5.53 and a 12-month high of $10.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $8.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.18.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported ($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $854.70 million. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 93.91% and a negative net margin of 5.71%. Equities research analysts expect that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion will post -2.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

In related news, Director William Dean Donovan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.54, for a total transaction of $377,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,946,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,213,217. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 238.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 6,204.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,755 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 7,632 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,000. 53.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Controladora Vuela Compañia de Aviacion, SAB de CV NYSE: VLRS is a Mexico-based airline holding company whose primary business is the operation of low-cost scheduled air transportation services. Through its principal operating subsidiary, Volaris, the company provides passenger and cargo flights on domestic and international routes. Its business model emphasizes unbundled ancillary services and point-to-point operations designed to offer competitive fares across its network.

Volaris serves more than 120 routes linking major metropolitan areas and secondary cities in Mexico, the United States and Central America.

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