Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.24, but opened at $3.15. Azul shares last traded at $3.20, with a volume of 160,366 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AZUL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Azul from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. HSBC downgraded Azul from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2.70 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Azul from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $6.70 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Azul to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.59.

Azul Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $3.32 and its 200 day moving average is $4.70.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $800.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $791.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.81) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Azul S.A. will post -1.73 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azul

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Azul by 106.3% during the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company's stock worth $17,816,000 after buying an additional 2,295,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Azul by 2,466.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,395,000 after buying an additional 575,344 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its stake in Azul by 13,831.7% in the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 290,465 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in shares of Azul by 4.5% during the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,354,953 shares of the company's stock worth $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 100,639 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Azul by 310.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 24,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.