Ahead of the Bell: Jet Blue Airways
Analysts Praise Jet Blue Airways Plan to Cut Costs and Slow Growth
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Analysts were pleased by Jet Blue Airways Corp.'s plans Wednesday, saying the airline is turning its fortunes around after a difficult year.
The stock jumped 20.2 percent Tuesday after Jet Blue reported a smaller loss than analysts expected, and swung to a full-year profit for the first time since 2004. The company also said it is negotiating an agreement with Deutsche Lufthansa that may result in the carriers pooling purchasing resources to cut costs and booking passengers on each others' planes.
Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl said Jet Blue is making sharp changes to its plans, which will lower its costs and allow it to turn a profit again in 2008. "We believe in many cases the low-cost carrier model does not work in an era of high fuel costs," he said. "It appears that Jet Blue has also come to that conclusion as they sharply scale back growth plans, limit the number of new city entries, and cut costs across the board."
Neidl kept a "Neutral" rating on the stock, and set a target price of $6 per share.
Lehman Brothers analyst Garrett Chase said the shares jumped because investors are learning what Jet Blue has in mind. "Jet Blue yesterday showed the first glimpse of an action plan to turn things around," he said. He added that shares could keep rising if the company keeps showing signs of a turnaround.
Chase kept an "Overweight" rating on the stock, with a target price of $10 per share. The stock finished at $5.94 Tuesday. Shares slipped 6 cents, or 1 percent, to $5.88 in Wednesday premarket trading. Jet Blue shares have lost more than half their value over the last year, as issues such as the high price of oil, management turnover and highly publicized delays have pressured the stock. Top of page ***
------------------------------------------------
source: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/99094e207456628ecd98b4872bfa7bef.htm
image: http://www.simpsonsfolder.com/sights/sights/jb-wh-logo.jpg
Analysts Praise Jet Blue Airways Plan to Cut Costs and Slow Growth
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Analysts were pleased by Jet Blue Airways Corp.'s plans Wednesday, saying the airline is turning its fortunes around after a difficult year.
The stock jumped 20.2 percent Tuesday after Jet Blue reported a smaller loss than analysts expected, and swung to a full-year profit for the first time since 2004. The company also said it is negotiating an agreement with Deutsche Lufthansa that may result in the carriers pooling purchasing resources to cut costs and booking passengers on each others' planes.
Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl said Jet Blue is making sharp changes to its plans, which will lower its costs and allow it to turn a profit again in 2008. "We believe in many cases the low-cost carrier model does not work in an era of high fuel costs," he said. "It appears that Jet Blue has also come to that conclusion as they sharply scale back growth plans, limit the number of new city entries, and cut costs across the board."
Neidl kept a "Neutral" rating on the stock, and set a target price of $6 per share.
Lehman Brothers analyst Garrett Chase said the shares jumped because investors are learning what Jet Blue has in mind. "Jet Blue yesterday showed the first glimpse of an action plan to turn things around," he said. He added that shares could keep rising if the company keeps showing signs of a turnaround.
Chase kept an "Overweight" rating on the stock, with a target price of $10 per share. The stock finished at $5.94 Tuesday. Shares slipped 6 cents, or 1 percent, to $5.88 in Wednesday premarket trading. Jet Blue shares have lost more than half their value over the last year, as issues such as the high price of oil, management turnover and highly publicized delays have pressured the stock. Top of page ***
------------------------------------------------
source: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/99094e207456628ecd98b4872bfa7bef.htm
image: http://www.simpsonsfolder.com/sights/sights/jb-wh-logo.jpg
0 komentar:
Post a Comment