JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $5.30 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $6.60.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on JBLU. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.40.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBLU opened at $6.07 on Friday. JetBlue Airways has a 12 month low of $3.87 and a 12 month high of $6.62. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 45.92% and a negative net margin of 9.32%.The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.21) earnings per share. JetBlue Airways’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that JetBlue Airways will post -2.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at JetBlue Airways

In related news, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.41, for a total value of $173,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,941.39. The trade was a 47.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total value of $444,977.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 211,099 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,930.24. This represents a 26.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 111,253 shares of company stock valued at $629,597 over the last ninety days. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JBLU. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in JetBlue Airways by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591,470 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,542,536 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,498,000 after purchasing an additional 813,782 shares in the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 105.3% in the 2nd quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,487,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,212,000 after buying an additional 2,814,870 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,513,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,091,000 after buying an additional 412,921 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 1,157.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,356,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,270,000 after buying an additional 3,089,226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline’s core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international routes.