JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Trading Down 5.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) fell 5.9% during trading on Monday after Citigroup downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. Citigroup now has a $5.30 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $6.60. JetBlue Airways traded as low as $5.71 and last traded at $5.7130. 2,375,889 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 27,170,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.07.

JBLU has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised JetBlue Airways from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other JetBlue Airways news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total value of $444,977.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 211,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,930.24. This represents a 26.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.41, for a total value of $173,120.00. Following the sale, the director owned 35,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,941.39. This represents a 47.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 111,253 shares of company stock valued at $629,597 in the last quarter. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBLU. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 326,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 13,232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 23,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 39,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.24. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 1.74.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.21) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -2.35 EPS for the current year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline’s core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international routes.