Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $2.16, but opened at $2.30. Azul shares last traded at $2.24, with a volume of 460,602 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZUL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Azul from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Azul has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.40.

Azul Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $2.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.06. The firm has a market cap of $988.58 million, a PE ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 1.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZUL. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Azul by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,473,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 119,023 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Azul in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Azul by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 203,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 75,291 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Azul by 205.3% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 201,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 135,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Azul in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.