A rebound in air travel demand keyed JetBlue's revenue beat
JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) is the latest airliner to step into the earnings confessional. The results are encouraging; JetBlue posted a first-quarter loss of $1.48, narrower than the expected first-quarter loss of $1.69. Revenue beat expectations as well, thanks to a rebound in air travel demand. Nevertheless, JBLUE is down 2.9% to trade at $19.92 this morning, despite trading higher in premarket action.
On the charts, JetBlue stock has faced off with a stiff ceiling at $22, and has been since March 2018, with the last attempt stalling out at an annual high of $21.96 on April 6. Over the last three months, JBLU has tacked on 41% with support from the 50-day moving average catching a sharper pullback last week. Longer term, the security has added 158.7% year-over-year.
Coming into today, analysts were quite optimistic on the stock. In fact, eight of the 10 in coverage call it a "buy" or better, while the remaining three sport "hold" or worse rating. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $21.79 is a 5.9% premium to current levels.
For those looking to speculate on the security's next move, options may be the way to go. According to JBLU's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 46%, which stands higher than only 6% of readings from the past 12 months, options traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations for Shopify -- a boon for premium buyers.