Short Interest in JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) Increases By 26.7%

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 66,720,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the February 28th total of 52,650,000 shares. Approximately 22.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 22,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on JBLU shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $6.85 to $7.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.33.

Insider Transactions at JetBlue Airways

In other news, Director Nik Mittal acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $614,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 116,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,960.02. This represents a 608.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $112,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,747.50. This trade represents a 26.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 14,595.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,599,279 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,470,000 after acquiring an additional 16,486,326 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 491.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,274,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,597,000 after buying an additional 3,552,057 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in JetBlue Airways by 3,729.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,436,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,009,000 after buying an additional 3,346,482 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in JetBlue Airways by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,513,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,170,000 after buying an additional 2,584,350 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 5,203,155 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,897,000 after buying an additional 1,968,343 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JetBlue Airways Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $5.04. The company had a trading volume of 27,112,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,500,784. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.63. JetBlue Airways has a twelve month low of $4.44 and a twelve month high of $8.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.80.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 9.31% and a negative net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. Analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.