JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) Short Interest Up 21.7% in March

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 72,787,107 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the February 26th total of 59,811,634 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 23,562,615 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 19.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.80.

JetBlue Airways Stock Down 2.4%

JBLU opened at $4.12 on Tuesday. JetBlue Airways has a twelve month low of $3.34 and a twelve month high of $6.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 25.62% and a negative net margin of 6.64%.The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.21) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,517 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in JetBlue Airways by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,513 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 4,664 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 203.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 17,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 11,890 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,333,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

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.