JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) Short Interest Up 21.7% in March

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 72,787,107 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the February 26th total of 59,811,634 shares. Approximately 19.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 23,562,615 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Key Stories Impacting JetBlue Airways

Here are the key news stories impacting JetBlue Airways this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JetBlue launched TrueBlue Subscriptions and new point-redemption options, which should increase recurring ancillary revenue, improve customer retention and make loyalty spend more predictable for the airline. JetBlue Expands TrueBlue (BusinessWire)
• Positive Sentiment: JetBlue raised checked-bag fees (first bag up to $49 in peak times), a direct ancillary-revenue move that helps offset higher operating costs and supports near-term cash flow. JetBlue raises bag fees (CNBC)
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest update was published (monitorable for positioning shifts), but it did not contain immediate corporate-action news. Short Interest Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Amazon’s satellite-internet deal with Delta highlights growing competition and investment in inflight connectivity; this is industry context but does not directly affect JetBlue unless it influences future Wi‑Fi contracts or capex choices. Amazon Starlink competitor lands Delta deal (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Jet fuel prices have surged amid the Iran war, raising operating costs materially; this is the root cause cited for the fee increases and remains a direct margin headwind that could outweigh ancillary gains if fuel stays elevated. Fuel surge and fee hike coverage (FOX Business)
• Negative Sentiment: Higher ancillary fees risk deterring price-sensitive leisure customers, which could pressure unit revenues and load factors during peak travel windows. Multiple outlets flagged the demand-risk tradeoff. Demand risk discussion (Business Insider)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on JBLU shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $4.40 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on JetBlue Airways in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,166,000 after buying an additional 5,591,470 shares during the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 105.3% during the second quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,487,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,212,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814,870 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,728,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,516,000 after acquiring an additional 219,622 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 10.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,513,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,091,000 after acquiring an additional 412,921 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 1,157.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,356,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,226 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 7.3%

JBLU opened at $4.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. JetBlue Airways has a fifty-two week low of $3.34 and a fifty-two week high of $6.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.71.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 6.64% and a negative return on equity of 25.62%. JetBlue Airways’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.21) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share 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.