Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) Short Interest Update

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 2,425,460 shares, an increase of 57.7% from the May 14th total of 1,538,172 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,825,397 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Paul Mcguinness sold 12,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $326,737.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,304 shares in the company, valued at $632,147.04. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $233,387.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 17,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,475.50. This represents a 33.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,607 shares of company stock valued at $2,918,397.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RYAAY. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 280.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 76.0% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 484 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 2,929.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 515 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 584 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ryanair by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 653 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYAAY traded up $0.62 on Tuesday, hitting $62.49. The company had a trading volume of 260,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,913. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Ryanair has a 52-week low of $53.14 and a 52-week high of $74.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.34 and a 200 day moving average of $63.98. The company has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.15.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Ryanair had a return on equity of 25.58% and a net margin of 13.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ryanair will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Ryanair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ryanair from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryanair currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67.

Ryanair Company Profile

Ryanair Holdings plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1984, the company grew into one of Europe’s largest budget carriers by offering point-to-point scheduled passenger services with an emphasis on low fares, high aircraft utilization and rapid turnaround times. Ryanair serves a broad network across Europe and nearby regions, focusing on both intra-European leisure travel and short-haul business routes.

The group primarily operates a single-type fleet based on the Boeing 737 family, supplemented by a mix of in-house and subsidiary airlines that help serve different markets and regulatory environments.