Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Trading Down 5.1% – Here’s Why

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) traded down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $1.76 and last traded at $1.76. 922,539 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,903,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZUL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James reduced 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Azul currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.40.

Azul Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $739.86 million, a PE ratio of -0.25 and a beta of 1.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZUL. Centiva Capital LP increased its holdings in Azul by 205.3% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 201,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 135,365 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Azul by 58.9% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 203,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 75,291 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Azul in the third quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Azul by 5.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Azul by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 63,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 8,899 shares in the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.