Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,130,000 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the October 31st total of 7,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZUL. HSBC downgraded Azul from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.70 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Azul from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $6.70 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Azul to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.59.

Azul Stock Performance

AZUL opened at $2.35 on Monday. Azul has a 1 year low of $2.02 and a 1 year high of $10.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.83. The company has a market cap of $990.69 million, a PE ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 1.99.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its position in Azul by 13,831.7% in the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 290,465 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Azul by 106.3% during the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,816,000 after buying an additional 2,295,000 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Azul by 2,466.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,395,000 after buying an additional 575,344 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Azul in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Azul by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,354,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 100,639 shares in the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Azul

Azul SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in Brazil and internationally. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 1,000 daily departures to 160 destinations through a network of 300 non-stop routes with an operating fleet of 183 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 189 aircraft.