JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Trading Down 8% – Here’s Why

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) dropped 8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $5.96 and last traded at $5.9450. Approximately 3,073,575 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 20,303,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JBLU shares. Citigroup raised JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.27.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.90.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.04). JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 25.62% and a negative net margin of 6.64%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the third quarter worth $1,129,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 17.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,951,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,600,000 after acquiring an additional 291,758 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 372.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 485,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 383,018 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,920,000. Finally, Soviero Asset Management LP bought a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,369,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.