JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Cut to "Hold" at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $7.00 target price on the transportation company's stock, down from their previous target price of $9.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.85 to $7.60 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.33.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 6.4 %

JBLU stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $6.48. 27,589,648 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,453,458. JetBlue Airways has a fifty-two week low of $4.50 and a fifty-two week high of $8.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.58. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 8.57% and a negative return on equity of 9.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBLU. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 14,595.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,599,279 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $130,470,000 after acquiring an additional 16,486,326 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 491.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,274,457 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $33,597,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552,057 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 3,729.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,436,202 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $27,009,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346,482 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 88.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,513,751 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $36,170,000 after buying an additional 2,584,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 5,203,155 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $40,897,000 after buying an additional 1,968,343 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

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.