It hasn’t been a great run lately for airline stock JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU). Even with pent-up demand for travel coming back and the younger generations preferring experiences over goods, JetBlue is struggling to return to profitability. A recent shuffle to the C-suite might help, and investors are giving JetBlue the benefit of the doubt with a modest rise in share prices.
JetBlue brought in Joanna Geraghty to serve as CEO, lifting her up from the ranks as she’s been with the company for 20 years. Previously, Geraghty served as president and chief operating officer and will be the first woman to lead a passenger airline in the United States.
Good Time for Deck Shuffling
That wasn’t the only pivot for JetBlue, either; just two weeks ago, it put in Warren Christie as its new chief operations officer, and also brought back Marty St. George to serve as president once more. He was part of the leadership team until 2019. It’s clear something needs to change; between the failed merger with Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) and a recent collision at Logan Airport, trust in JetBlue is likely on the decline.
Is JetBlue Stock a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on JBLU stock based on three Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 29.8% loss in its share price over the past year, the average JBLU price target of $4.63 per share implies 22.9% downside risk.
