Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $39.66, but opened at $41.75. Ryanair shares last traded at $41.50, with a volume of 530,548 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RYAAY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ryanair Trading Up 4.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.39 and a 200 day moving average of $46.31. The firm has a market cap of $23.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.41.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The transportation company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.20. Ryanair had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 21.46%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ryanair Holdings plc will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ryanair in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,067,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ryanair by 146.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 51,656 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 30,723 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ryanair by 171.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 656,244 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,649,000 after purchasing an additional 414,595 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ryanair by 145.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,779,187 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,744,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ryanair by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 41,708 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 26,349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

About Ryanair

Ryanair Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled-passenger airline services in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and internationally. It is also involved in the provision of various ancillary services, such as non-flight scheduled and Internet-related services, as well as in-flight sale of beverages, food, duty-free, and merchandise; and markets car hire, travel insurance, and accommodation services through its website and mobile app.