Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CMO Dara Brady Sells 8,973 Shares

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CMO Dara Brady sold 8,973 shares of the company’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 $456,475.50. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Ryanair Price Performance

Shares of Ryanair stock opened at $57.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.54. The firm has a market cap of $29.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.13. Ryanair Holdings PLC has a twelve month low of $53.14 and a twelve month high of $74.24.

Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.95) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Ryanair had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 25.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ryanair Holdings PLC will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on RYAAY. Wall Street Zen lowered Ryanair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Ryanair from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ryanair in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ryanair in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryanair presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryanair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 39,929,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,884,834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,742 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Ryanair by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 31,051,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,241,612,000 after acquiring an additional 312,323 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ryanair by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,304,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $527,341,000 after acquiring an additional 985,939 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ryanair by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,752,264 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $332,480,000 after purchasing an additional 185,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metropolis Capital Ltd raised its stake in Ryanair by 10.8% in the first quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 3,949,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $228,266,000 after purchasing an additional 385,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.66% of the company’s stock.

Ryanair News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ryanair this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several Ryanair insiders sold shares, but the filings state the transactions were made to cover tax withholding obligations tied to vesting equity awards, which usually makes the activity less concerning for investors. CEO Andreas Gruber sale filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The sales were spread across top management, including the CEO, CFO, CMO, and other insiders, but the disclosures do not indicate a change in the company’s operating outlook or a strategic shift. CFO Tracey Mccann sale filing
• Neutral Sentiment: The insider selling may keep some pressure on sentiment in the short term, but because it appears routine and tax-related, it is less likely to be viewed as a strong bearish signal. CEO Eddie Joseph Wilson sale filing

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.