Azul Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 4,760 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 163% compared to the typical volume of 1,810 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Azul by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 5,932,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,908,000 after acquiring an additional 905,463 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Azul by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,473,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 119,023 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda raised its holdings in Azul by 505.4% in the 4th quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 538,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 449,855 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 75,291 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in Azul by 205.3% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 201,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 135,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AZUL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Azul from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azul presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

Azul Price Performance

Shares of AZUL opened at $1.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $739.86 million, a PE ratio of -0.25 and a beta of 1.98. Azul has a one year low of $1.57 and a one year high of $8.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.45.

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.