Airlines drop, with JetBlue leading declines

Hawaiian Holdings

18/09/2023 19:14

** The S&P 1500 U.S. passenger airlines index  .SPCOMAIR 
was down 
    1.4
    % on Monday, pulled lower by JetBlue Airways  JBLU.O , down 
    4.9
    % at $
    4.73
  
        ** Most airlines in index down between 1 and 2%,
underperforming vs the S&P 500's  .SPX  0.2% gain. Hawaiian
Holdings  HA.O , Southwest Airlines  LUV.N  and Alaska Air
 ALK.N  were down less than 1%
  
    ** SPCOMAIR has been falling in the past two months, with a
decline of almost 24% since July 11. JetBlue has fallen almost
50% since July 5. YTD, SPCOMAIR's ~6% gain compares with a 27%
drop for JBLU
    ** One factor weighing on airlines recently is the prospect
of higher fuel prices, with U.S. crude prices up ~35% since late
June
    ** On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that
cheaper airfares are squeezing airline stocks
    ** JetBlue on Aug. 1 had slashed its full-year profit
forecast, citing a hit from the termination of an alliance with
American Airlines  AAL.O , down 1.1% at $13.17, and a shift in
travel demand away from domestic trips to long-haul
international destinations
    ** On Monday, Citi cut its price target for American
Airlines to $15.25 from $16.60 and cut its PT for Delta  DAL.N 
to $64 from $67 while Evercore cut its PT for Spirit Airlines
 SAVE.N  to $20 from $25. 
    ** Spirit Airlines shares were down 1.6% at $16.20 on
Monday. Delta was down 1.6% at $39.25

 (Reporting By Sinéad Carew)
 ((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +13322191897;))