JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Trading Up 5.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) shares rose 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $6.85 to $7.60. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. JetBlue Airways traded as high as $7.38 and last traded at $7.37. Approximately 7,869,340 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 16,015,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, JetBlue Airways has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 715.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,630,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430,622 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in JetBlue Airways by 16.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,041,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,217 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 429.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,232,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,084,000 after purchasing an additional 999,713 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,311,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,661,742 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,141,000 after buying an additional 663,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Stock Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 1.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 8.35% and a negative net margin of 9.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that JetBlue Airways Co. will post -0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.