JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 46,094 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average daily volume of 31,287 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBLU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $5.30 to $4.50 in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.02.

JetBlue Airways News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting JetBlue Airways this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FAA approval for 22 LaGuardia slots: JetBlue received final approval to take over Spirit’s former takeoff and landing slots at New York’s slot-constrained LaGuardia Airport. The added capacity could strengthen JetBlue’s presence on premium, business-oriented routes and improve pricing power because competitors cannot easily add flights. JetBlue lands FAA approval for Spirit’s old slots at LaGuardia Airport
• Positive Sentiment: Citi removed its sell rating: Citigroup upgraded JBLU from “sell” to “neutral,” saying downside risk is more limited around current valuation levels. However, Citi reduced its price target to $4.50 from $5.30, tempering the benefit of the rating change. Citi upgrades JetBlue to neutral as valuation risk eases
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue momentum provides a potential turnaround signal: JetBlue’s latest quarterly revenue rose 14.5% year over year, while its $0.66 per-share loss was modestly better than analyst expectations. The company is also emphasizing premium seating and Mint lounges, but profitability remains weak and leverage is high.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cut by Susquehanna: Susquehanna lowered its JBLU price target to $4.00 from $6.00 and assigned a “neutral” rating, implying limited upside from current levels. Susquehanna lowers JetBlue price target
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually heavy put-option activity: Traders purchased 46,094 JBLU put options, approximately 47% above average daily volume. The activity may reflect increased hedging or bearish speculation, adding near-term pressure to investor sentiment.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ursula Hurley sold 77,253 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total value of $444,977.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 211,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,215,930.24. The trade was a 26.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 83,253 shares of company stock valued at $474,477 in the last quarter. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 3,203 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in JetBlue Airways by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 157,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 21,131 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in JetBlue Airways by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 553,212 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 270,358 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 1,110.5% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 173,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 158,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the second quarter worth about $169,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Trading Down 1.5%

JBLU stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.97. The company had a trading volume of 21,992,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,636,375. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.63. JetBlue Airways has a 52 week low of $3.87 and a 52 week high of $6.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.91 and a 200 day moving average of $5.06. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 1.77.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 45.92% and a negative net margin of 9.32%.The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU) is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and select destinations in Canada and Europe. The company serves leisure and business travelers through a network centered on major U.S. airports, including New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

JetBlue offers multiple travel products, including its core economy service and premium Mint cabins on select routes. Its onboard offerings have included complimentary snacks and beverages, seatback entertainment, Wi-Fi and additional-legroom seating options marketed as Even More Space.