JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

JBLU has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, JetBlue Airways currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBLU opened at $4.95 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $3.87 and a 1-year high of $6.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.25.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.21) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that JetBlue Airways will post -2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at JetBlue Airways

In other JetBlue Airways news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total transaction of $444,977.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 211,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,215,930.24. This represents a 26.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.41, for a total transaction of $173,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,941.39. This trade represents a 47.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,253 shares of company stock worth $629,597. Corporate insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBLU. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 509.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 649,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 543,017 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the second quarter valued at $6,890,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,725,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 235.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,246,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth about $1,333,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline’s core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international routes.