JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Trading 7.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) were up 7.3% on Tuesday after Citigroup upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a neutral rating. Citigroup now has a $6.00 price target on the stock. JetBlue Airways traded as high as $5.62 and last traded at $5.6550. Approximately 4,271,599 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 20,945,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.27.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on JBLU. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,021,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,279 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,129,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 17.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,951,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,600,000 after purchasing an additional 291,758 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 372.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 485,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 383,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soviero Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,369,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 7.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 1.78.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 24.93% and a negative net margin of 6.64%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.21) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -0.69 EPS 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.