Azul Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 7,813 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 743% compared to the average daily volume of 927 put options.

Azul Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE:AZUL traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $3.74. 1,731,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,625,472. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.45 and its 200-day moving average is $7.11. Azul has a 12-month low of $3.70 and a 12-month high of $13.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.59 and a beta of 2.01.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $945.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $968.17 million. On average, research analysts expect that Azul will post -0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AZUL. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Azul in a research note on Friday, May 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.40 price target for the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down from $13.00) on shares of Azul in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Azul from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $9.50 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Azul in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.12.

Institutional Trading of Azul

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Azul in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Azul in the third quarter worth $4,999,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Azul in the third quarter worth $205,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in Azul by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 21,549 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Azul by 310.0% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 24,054 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.