UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Stock

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) had its price target increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $3.50 to $4.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group‘s price target points to a potential downside of 0.12% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upgraded JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $5.30 to $4.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised JetBlue Airways from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $3.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Seaport Research Partners cut JetBlue Airways from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.98.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 1.6%

JBLU stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.00. The company had a trading volume of 22,769,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,631,570. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.81 and a 200 day moving average of $4.87. JetBlue Airways has a 12 month low of $2.16 and a 12 month high of $6.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.92, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The transportation company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 10.01% and a negative return on equity of 56.96%. The business’s revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.40) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nik Mittal acquired 100,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.24 per share, for a total transaction of $324,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 238,537 shares in the company, valued at $772,859.88. The trade was a 72.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $23,920. 2.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 255.6% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 233,384 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 167,744 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 69,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 26,484 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways during the 3rd quarter worth $619,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in JetBlue Airways by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 19,288 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 7,158 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Founded in 1998, the company began flying in 2000 and operates scheduled service across the United States and to destinations in the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and Europe. The airline offers economy and premium travel options, including its Mint business-class service on select routes and additional-legroom seating. JetBlue also provides loyalty rewards through its TrueBlue program and sells vacation packages combining flights with other travel services.