Short Interest in Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) Rises By 5.5%

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,280,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the January 15th total of 6,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZUL has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Azul from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Azul from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.40.

Azul Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE AZUL traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,361,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,900. Azul has a 52 week low of $1.57 and a 52 week high of $8.73. The company has a market capitalization of $760.93 million, a PE ratio of -0.25 and a beta of 2.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azul

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Azul by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 203,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 75,291 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in Azul by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,473,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 119,023 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new position in Azul in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Azul during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Azul during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.