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

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.80, but opened at $3.06. Azul shares last traded at $3.11, with a volume of 616,942 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZUL. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Azul to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Azul from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $6.70 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Azul from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.59.

Azul Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.41.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $800.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $791.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Azul S.A. will post -1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Azul by 106.3% in the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295,000 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Azul by 4.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 575,344 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its holdings in Azul by 13,831.7% in the 2nd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 290,465 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Azul during the 3rd quarter valued at $306,000. 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.