Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Down to $4.27

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $4.27, but opened at $4.10. Azul shares last traded at $4.08, with a volume of 145,855 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Azul from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $9.50 price objective (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Azul in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Azul in a research note on Friday, May 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.40 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Azul in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.12.

Azul Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -1.64 and a beta of 2.05.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $945.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $968.17 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Azul S.A. will post -0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Azul by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 874,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,797,000 after buying an additional 82,077 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Azul in the third quarter worth about $4,999,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of Azul by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 21,549 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Azul by 310.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 24,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Azul by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 24,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares during the period. 0.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Azul

Azul SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in Brazil and internationally. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 1,000 daily departures to 160 destinations through a network of 300 non-stop routes with an operating fleet of 183 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 189 aircraft.