Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Azul (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 4,760 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 163% compared to the typical volume of 1,810 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZUL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Azul from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.40.

Azul Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZUL traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1.73. 337,145 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,269,253. Azul has a 52-week low of $1.57 and a 52-week high of $8.73. The stock has a market cap of $727.21 million, a P/E ratio of -0.24 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZUL. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Azul by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 203,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 75,291 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Azul by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,473,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 119,023 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Azul in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Azul during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Azul in the fourth quarter worth $167,000. 0.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Azul Company Profile

Azul SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in Brazil and internationally. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 1,000 daily departures to 160 destinations through a network of 300 non-stop routes with an operating fleet of 183 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 189 aircraft.