The airline lifted its third-quarter revenue guidance
JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) lifted its third-quarter revenue outlook amid improved summer travel. The stock was last seen up 6.1% to trade $5.34 as a result, consolidating above penny stock territory after bouncing off an Aug. 14, year-to-date low of $4.49, which followed the offering of $400 million convertible senior notes. Despite being on track to conquer its 30-day moving average, JBLU carries a 12.9% quarter-to-date deficit.
Short sellers are firmly in control, with short interest up 58.2% in the last two reporting periods. The 68.68 million shares sold short now make up 21.9% of the stock’s available float, and would take nearly one week to cover at the stock’s average pace of daily trading.
The options pits lean firmly bearish as well, per the security’s 10-day put/call volume ratio over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) that sits higher than 74% of annual readings. This suggests puts are more popular than usual.
Sentiment appears to be shifting today, with 8,226 calls across the tape so far, which is four times the intraday average volume. The most active contract is the weekly 9/6 5-strike call.