JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Stock Price Down 9.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) dropped 9.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $4.56 and last traded at $4.56. Approximately 18,853,776 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 19,395,791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on JBLU. Evercore raised their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, JetBlue Airways presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.11.

JetBlue Airways Trading Down 1.8%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JBLU. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591,470 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in JetBlue Airways by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,745,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,770,000 after buying an additional 128,622 shares during the period. Par Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in JetBlue Airways by 105.3% during the second quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,487,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,212,000 after buying an additional 2,814,870 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,728,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,516,000 after buying an additional 219,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 10.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,513,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,091,000 after buying an additional 412,921 shares during the last quarter. 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.