JetBlue Airways Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:JBLU)

JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 25,284 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 95% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,961 call options.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of JBLU stock opened at $5.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.05. JetBlue Airways has a 52-week low of $3.42 and a 52-week high of $7.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 1.93.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.26. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 10.29% and a negative net margin of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 169.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.90 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.75.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.