Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) shot up 3.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.66 and last traded at $1.64. 245,384 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,917,609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZUL has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Azul from $3.60 to $3.10 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of 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. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Azul to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.46.

Azul Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $2.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.33. The firm has a market cap of $687.16 million, a PE ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 1.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Azul by 106.3% during the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295,000 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Azul by 4.5% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,354,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after buying an additional 100,639 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Azul by 2,466.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,395,000 after buying an additional 575,344 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its position in shares of Azul by 13,831.7% in the 2nd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 290,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Azul by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 203,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 75,291 shares in the last quarter. 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.