Investors Purchase Large Volume of Azul Put Options (NYSE:AZUL)

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 4,179 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 163% compared to the typical volume of 1,592 put options.

Azul Stock Up 1.9 %

AZUL traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,066,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,659. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.53. The firm has a market cap of $897.95 million, a PE ratio of -0.86 and a beta of 1.97. Azul has a one year low of $2.08 and a one year high of $11.26.

Azul (NYSE:AZUL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $800.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $791.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.81) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Azul will post -1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AZUL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Azul from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Azul in a research note on Friday, May 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.40 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Azul from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.70 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Azul to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Azul by 106.3% in the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,816,000 after buying an additional 2,295,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Azul by 2,466.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 575,344 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its position in shares of Azul by 13,831.7% during the 2nd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 290,465 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Azul by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 874,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,797,000 after buying an additional 82,077 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Azul by 310.0% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 24,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.