Seaport Res Ptn Downgrades Azul (NYSE:AZUL) to Hold

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) was downgraded by equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

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

Azul Stock Performance

Azul stock opened at $3.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.82. Azul has a one year low of $2.02 and a one year high of $11.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -1.26 and a beta of 1.98.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) 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 posted ($0.81) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Azul will post -1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azul

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZUL. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Azul by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Azul in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Azul by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 3,764 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Azul by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 27,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Azul by 310.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 24,054 shares in the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Azul

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.