Spirit Airlines shareholders will vote on the matter on June 10
The shares of Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NYSE:SAVE) are down 2% at $19.04 this morning, following news that the budget airline's board unanimously called for the company to reject JetBlue Airlines' (JBLU) latest hostile takeover offer, calling it "a cynical attempt to disrupt" its current merger with Frontier Group (ULCC). JetBlue Airlines offered $30 per share in the latest bid, which JBLU* said is superior to Frontier's cash-and-stock offer that values SAVE at $20.18 per share. Spirit's shareholders will vote on the matter on June 10.
The battle for the acquisition of Spirit Airlines has exhausted the shares, with several of the stock's jumps during the past year contingent on the latest update surrounding the potential merger. Its 2022 highs both lost steam near the $28 mark, with the 320-day moving average also emerging as a ceiling this year. Now, SAVE is coming off an annual low of $15.92, hit on May 12, though additional pressure at the $21 level is keeping a lid on some of these gains.
It's worth mentioning that SAVE sports a 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 30, which sits right on the cusp of "oversold" territory. An RSI this low can sometimes be indicative for a short-term bounce on the charts.
Amid all this back-and-fourth, analysts have remained split on Spirit Airlines. Of the 10 in coverage, five say "strong buy" and five say "hold." Meanwhile the 12-month consensus price target of $17.33 is a 64.6% premium to current levels.
*An earlier version of this article was unclear over attribution.