Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Up to $8.40

Shares of Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL – Get Rating) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $8.40, but opened at $8.87. Azul shares last traded at $9.13, with a volume of 736,069 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZUL shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Azul from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $6.90 to $11.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Azul from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Azul from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $6.00 to $8.60 in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.78.

Azul Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.54 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $7.06 and its 200-day moving average is $6.61.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.57). The company had revenue of $846.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $898.95 million. Equities research analysts expect that Azul S.A. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG increased its position in Azul by 930.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Azul by 140.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Azul by 231.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Azul by 697.6% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 6,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its position in Azul by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 9,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.43% of the company’s stock.

Azul Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Azul SA is a holding company, which engages in the provision of airline passenger and cargo services. The firm’s service features include passenger seat selection, leather seats, individual entertainment screens with free live television at every seat in all E-Jets, extensive legroom with a pitch of 30 inches or more, complimentary beverage and snack services and free bus service to key airports.