Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CEO Eddie Joseph Wilson Sells 21,080 Shares

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CEO Eddie Joseph Wilson sold 21,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $548,290.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,447,001.26. This represents a 13.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Ryanair Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY opened at $57.42 on Friday. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a 52 week low of $53.14 and a 52 week high of $74.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $29.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.13.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.95) by $0.09. Ryanair had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 13.95%.The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Equities analysts predict that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryanair

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LVW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ryanair by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Ryanair by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 584 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its holdings in Ryanair by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,965 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ryanair by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ryanair this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several Ryanair insiders sold shares, but the filings state the transactions were made to cover tax withholding obligations tied to vesting equity awards, which usually makes the activity less concerning for investors. CEO Andreas Gruber sale filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The sales were spread across top management, including the CEO, CFO, CMO, and other insiders, but the disclosures do not indicate a change in the company’s operating outlook or a strategic shift. CFO Tracey Mccann sale filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The insider selling may keep some pressure on sentiment in the short term, but because it appears routine and tax-related, it is less likely to be viewed as a strong bearish signal. CEO Eddie Joseph Wilson sale filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore raised shares of Ryanair from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Ryanair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.67.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe’s largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.