Traders Buy High Volume of Azul Put Options (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 4,760 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 163% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,810 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZUL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Azul from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Azul during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Azul in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Azul in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Azul by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 29,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 9,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Azul by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 48,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 6,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Azul Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Azul stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $1.73. 337,145 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,269,253. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.45. The company has a market cap of $727.21 million, a PE ratio of -0.24 and a beta of 1.98. Azul has a 52 week low of $1.57 and a 52 week high of $8.73.

Azul Company Profile

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.