Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.19, but opened at $3.64. Azul shares last traded at $3.79, with a volume of 568,752 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AZUL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Azul from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $6.70 to $4.00 in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Azul to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Azul from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.59.

Azul Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.55 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.88.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $800.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $791.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Azul S.A. will post -1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZUL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Azul during the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its position in Azul by 13,831.7% in the 2nd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 290,465 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Azul by 106.3% in the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,816,000 after buying an additional 2,295,000 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Azul by 2,466.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after buying an additional 575,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Azul by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 3,764 shares during the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.