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

Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 4,760 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 163% compared to the typical volume of 1,810 put options.

Azul Stock Performance

AZUL opened at $1.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $773.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.26 and a beta of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.44. Azul has a twelve month low of $1.57 and a twelve month high of $8.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Azul

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Azul by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 48,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 6,844 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its position in Azul by 44.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 29,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 9,038 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Azul during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Azul in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Azul from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Azul from $3.10 to $2.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Azul from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

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.