Short Interest in JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) Expands By 26.7%

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 66,720,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the February 28th total of 52,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 22,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 22.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,747.50. This trade represents a 26.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nik Mittal bought 100,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $614,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 116,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,960.02. This represents a 608.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,130,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 193,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 14,268 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JBLU. Seaport Res Ptn lowered JetBlue Airways from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.33.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBLU opened at $5.04 on Thursday. JetBlue Airways has a 52-week low of $4.44 and a 52-week high of $8.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.63.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 9.31% and a negative net margin of 8.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.