With the resurgence of coronavirus cases gripping several parts of Europe including the UK, Ireland and some other countries in the EU, it was pretty predictable that the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings’ (RYAAY - Free Report) March traffic report will be poor. The fresh wave of the pandemic only worsened the already tepid air-travel demand as a result of the reimposed travel-related restrictions.
The European carrier’s March traffic declined 91% year over year to merely 0.5 million guests. On a rolling-annual basis, total traffic at Ryanair dived 81% to 27.5 million. The carrier’s load factor (percentage of seats filled with passengers) in the month was 77% compared with 91% a year ago.
Due to the renewed spike in coronavirus cases induced by the new strains, shares of Ryanair have underperformed its industry’s growth over the past month. While the stock has gained 2.3%, the industry has appreciated 3.4%
.
The traffic data apart, Ryanair was in news recently when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly approved the design for the Boeing 737-8200 jets, which are basically a higher-passenger capacity version of the 737-8 MAX.
The clearance of the design was necessary before The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) can start delivering these higher-capacity jets to Ryanair. In December 2020, the carrier announced the placement of a firm order for 75 additional 737 MAX 8200 planes.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Ryanair currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are USA Truck, Inc. and Saia, Inc. (SAIA - Free Report) . While USA Truck sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Saia carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of USA Truck and Saia have rallied more than 100% and 73% in the past six months, respectively.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?
Last year's 2020Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
AccessZacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021 today >>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
With the resurgence of coronavirus cases gripping several parts of Europe including the UK, Ireland and some other countries in the EU, it was pretty predictable that the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings’ (RYAAY - Free Report) March traffic report will be poor. The fresh wave of the pandemic only worsened the already tepid air-travel demand as a result of the reimposed travel-related restrictions.
The European carrier’s March traffic declined 91% year over year to merely 0.5 million guests. On a rolling-annual basis, total traffic at Ryanair dived 81% to 27.5 million. The carrier’s load factor (percentage of seats filled with passengers) in the month was 77% compared with 91% a year ago.
Due to the renewed spike in coronavirus cases induced by the new strains, shares of Ryanair have underperformed its industry’s growth over the past month. While the stock has gained 2.3%, the industry has appreciated 3.4%
.
The traffic data apart, Ryanair was in news recently when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly approved the design for the Boeing 737-8200 jets, which are basically a higher-passenger capacity version of the 737-8 MAX.
The clearance of the design was necessary before The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) can start delivering these higher-capacity jets to Ryanair. In December 2020, the carrier announced the placement of a firm order for 75 additional 737 MAX 8200 planes.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Ryanair currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are USA Truck, Inc. and Saia, Inc. (SAIA - Free Report) . While USA Truck sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Saia carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of USA Truck and Saia have rallied more than 100% and 73% in the past six months, respectively.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?
Last year's 2020Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
AccessZacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021 today >>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
Get the latest research report on BA - FREE
Get the latest research report on RYAAY - FREE
Get the latest research report on SAIA - FREE