Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 459,600 shares, an increase of 100.4% from the January 31st total of 229,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 581,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the third quarter worth $92,000. Institutional investors own 53.32% of the company’s stock.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VLRS traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $6.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,879. The company has a market capitalization of $785.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 2.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación has a 52 week low of $5.15 and a 52 week high of $9.57.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación (NYSE:VLRS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.16). Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 71.50%. The company had revenue of $835.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.48 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLRS. StockNews.com cut shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.14.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación Company Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiary, Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAP.I. de C.V., provides air transportation services for passengers, cargo, and mail in Mexico and internationally. The company operates approximately 590 daily flights on routes connecting 43 cities in Mexico, 22 cities in the United States, 4 cities in Central America, and 2 cities in South America.