Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $2.69, but opened at $2.82. Azul shares last traded at $2.85, with a volume of 384,621 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AZUL shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Azul to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lowered 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 shares of Azul from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Azul presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.59.

Azul Stock Up 3.3 %

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.29 and a beta of 1.99.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.63). The firm had revenue of $800.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $791.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Azul S.A. will post -1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Azul

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZUL. Creative Planning bought a new position in Azul in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Azul by 35.9% during the second 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. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Azul during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Azul in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Azul by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 3,764 shares during the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently 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.