Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Shares of Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.70, but opened at $2.78. Azul shares last traded at $2.75, with a volume of 112,246 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Azul from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Azul from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $6.70 to $4.00 in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. HSBC cut shares of Azul from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2.70 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Azul to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.59.

Azul Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of -0.28 and a beta of 1.99.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $800.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $791.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Azul S.A. will post -1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Azul

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in Azul by 9.5% during the second quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 27,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,380 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Azul by 35.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,649 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Azul by 19.4% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 18,699 shares of the company's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in Azul in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Azul during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.