JetBlue Airways Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:JBLU)

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 41,399 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 82% compared to the average daily volume of 22,745 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JBLU. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.10 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $4.93.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock opened at $5.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $4.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.73. JetBlue Airways has a twelve month low of $3.34 and a twelve month high of $8.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.08 and a beta of 1.78.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 19.87% and a negative net margin of 5.16%.The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBLU. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,021,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,241,000 after buying an additional 1,011,279 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 17.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,951,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,600,000 after acquiring an additional 291,758 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways in the third quarter worth about $1,129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 372.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 485,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 383,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in JetBlue Airways by 5,888.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 252,943 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 248,719 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.