Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Azul Put Options (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 7,813 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 743% compared to the average daily volume of 927 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AZUL shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Azul in a research note on Friday, May 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.40 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Azul in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on Azul from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $9.50 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Azul in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZUL. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Azul by 10.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Azul during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,999,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Azul by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 21,549 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Azul by 310.0% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 24,054 shares during the period. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its stake in Azul by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 24,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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.

Azul Price Performance

NYSE:AZUL opened at $3.84 on Wednesday. Azul has a one year low of $3.70 and a one year high of $13.86. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 2.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.41 and a 200-day moving average of $7.07.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.57) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $945.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $968.17 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Azul will post -0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Azul Company Profile

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.