Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.99, but opened at $1.90. Azul shares last traded at $1.83, with a volume of 340,186 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AZUL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Azul from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $6.70 to $4.00 in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. HSBC downgraded shares of Azul from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.70 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Azul to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azul presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.59.

Azul Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.72 and a 200-day moving average of $3.53. The company has a market cap of $756.72 million, a PE ratio of -0.25 and a beta of 1.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Azul by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Azul by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 3,764 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Azul during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Azul in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Azul during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 0.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Azul Company Profile

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.