Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Short Interest Update

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,610,000 shares, a growth of 75.9% from the February 28th total of 915,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 646,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VLRS. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Itau BBA Securities started coverage on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.88.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación during the fourth quarter worth about $14,786,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,550,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,479,591 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,423,000 after acquiring an additional 291,252 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the 4th quarter valued at $2,106,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación by 236.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 227,601 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 159,900 shares during the last quarter. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación Price Performance

VLRS stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $5.26. The company had a trading volume of 216,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,103. The company's fifty day moving average is $6.95 and its 200 day moving average is $7.29. The company has a market cap of $613.31 million, a P/E ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.70. Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación has a 1 year low of $5.07 and a 1 year high of $9.57.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $835.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.48 million. Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 71.50%. On average, research analysts forecast that Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación Company Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiary, Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAP.I. de C.V., provides air transportation services for passengers, cargo, and mail in Mexico and internationally. The company operates approximately 590 daily flights on routes connecting 43 cities in Mexico, 22 cities in the United States, 4 cities in Central America, and 2 cities in South America.