Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.61, but opened at $2.38. Azul shares last traded at $2.39, with a volume of 425,758 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZUL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Azul from $10.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Azul to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Azul from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $6.70 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Azul has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.59.

Azul Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2.93 and its 200 day moving average is $3.85. The company has a market capitalization of $990.69 million, a PE ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 1.99.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Azul

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Azul in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Azul by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in Azul in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Azul during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Azul by 20.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 3,764 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.