Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Short Interest Down 56.3% in July

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) saw a significant decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 885,192 shares, a decrease of 56.3% from the July 15th total of 2,024,544 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 577,692 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLRS shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $8.60 to $7.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.42.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of VLRS stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.89. 840,609 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 580,903. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.32 and a 200 day moving average of $8.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion has a 1 year low of $5.70 and a 1 year high of $10.80. The firm has a market cap of $919.97 million, a PE ratio of -4.81 and a beta of 1.72.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported ($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.08) by ($0.03). Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative net margin of 5.71% and a negative return on equity of 93.91%. The company had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $854.70 million. Analysts expect that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion will post -2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

In other news, Director William Dean Donovan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.54, for a total value of $377,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,946,050 shares in the company, valued at $22,213,217. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 238.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its holdings in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 757,761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,433 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 3,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 17.3% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 30,676 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the period. 53.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Controladora Vuela Compañia de Aviacion, SAB de CV (NYSE: VLRS) is a Mexico-based airline holding company whose primary business is the operation of low-cost scheduled air transportation services. Through its principal operating subsidiary, Volaris, the company provides passenger and cargo flights on domestic and international routes. Its business model emphasizes unbundled ancillary services and point-to-point operations designed to offer competitive fares across its network.

Volaris serves more than 120 routes linking major metropolitan areas and secondary cities in Mexico, the United States and Central America.