JetBlue Airways Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:JBLU)

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 22,185 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average daily volume of 16,742 call options.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.11. 16,816,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,772,991. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.81 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.89. JetBlue Airways has a 12 month low of $4.09 and a 12 month high of $8.07.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.17% and a negative return on equity of 8.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.39) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on JBLU. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $7.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of JetBlue Airways from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $3.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the first quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 1,951.2% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 4,205 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the third quarter worth $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.