JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 52,870,000 shares, a decline of 12.2% from the January 15th total of 60,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 20,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 18.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBLU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $6.85 to $7.60 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded JetBlue Airways to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered JetBlue Airways from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.51.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

JetBlue Airways stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.24. The company had a trading volume of 14,934,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,800,264. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 1.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $7.27 and its 200-day moving average is $6.48. JetBlue Airways has a 12-month low of $4.49 and a 12-month high of $8.31.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 9.29% and a negative net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nik Mittal bought 100,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $614,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 116,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $714,960.02. This trade represents a 608.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total value of $112,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,833 shares in the company, valued at $313,747.50. The trade was a 26.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,130,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 193,054 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 14,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in JetBlue Airways by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 5,203,155 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,343 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.