JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 39,380,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the October 15th total of 36,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $4.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,275,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,684,969. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.34 and a beta of 1.74. JetBlue Airways has a one year low of $3.42 and a one year high of $9.45.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The transportation company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 0.46% and a negative net margin of 1.89%. The company’s revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -0.67 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $7.50 to $5.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 9th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of JetBlue Airways from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $3.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on JetBlue Airways in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.03.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 162.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 174,219 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 107,791 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 44,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 7,941 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 57,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 10.2% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 20,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,117,000. 74.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air passenger transportation services. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 63 Airbus A321 aircraft, 14 Airbus A220 aircraft, 23 Airbus A321neo aircraft, 130 Airbus A320 aircraft, and 60 Embraer E190 aircraft. It also served 100 destinations in the 32 states in the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S.