JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Trading Down 6.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU)’s share price traded down 6.1% on Monday after Seaport Research Partners downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. The stock traded as low as $5.32 and last traded at $5.3050. Approximately 8,412,030 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 26,955,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.65.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup downgraded JetBlue Airways from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6.60 to $5.30 in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, JetBlue Airways presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,517 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the second quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 639.1% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,839 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 5,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of -2.22 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted ($0.21) earnings per share. Analysts expect that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

About JetBlue Airways

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.