Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,050,000 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the June 30th total of 7,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Azul

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Azul by 35.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its position in shares of Azul by 9.5% in 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 period. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Azul by 19.4% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 18,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Azul in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Azul by 310.0% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 24,054 shares during the period. 0.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZUL. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Azul in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Azul from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $9.50 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Azul in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Azul in a research report on Friday, May 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.40 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Azul from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.12.

Azul Price Performance

NYSE AZUL traded down $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $4.09. 1,782,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,011. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.76 and its 200 day moving average is $6.36. Azul has a 52 week low of $3.70 and a 52 week high of $11.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 2.01.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $945.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $968.17 million. Analysts predict that Azul will post -1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.