Azul (NYSE:AZUL) Stock Price Up 6.6% – Should You Buy?

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL)’s stock price shot up 6.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $2.36 and last traded at $2.34. 158,175 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,181,243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZUL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Azul from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Azul presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.40.

Azul Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.34 and a beta of 1.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.15 and a 200 day moving average of $3.02.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azul

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZUL. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its position in shares of Azul by 13,831.7% in the 2nd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 292,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 290,465 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in 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 last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Azul by 106.3% in the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,816,000 after buying an additional 2,295,000 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Azul by 2,466.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,395,000 after acquiring an additional 575,344 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Azul by 5.1% during 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 last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.