JetBlue Airways (JBLU) announced that its venture capital subsidiary JetBlue Technology Ventures (JTV) has made an incremental investment in Transparent, a market intelligence company catering to the vacation rental industry.
Shares of JetBlue Airways, one of the largest low-cost airlines in the U.S., have jumped over 60% in the past year. (See JetBlue Airways stock chart on TipRanks)
Founded in 2016, Transparent provides a platform that aggregates data on the vacation rental market, enabling property managers, real estate investors, online travel agencies, and tourism boards to make informed decisions within the vacation rental space.
Transparent also boasts an attractive list of clients and partnerships globally, including Amadeus, Booking.com, Four Seasons, Marriott, and Hopper, to name a few.
Given the current travel market demand volatility, the investment in Transparent will provide JetBlue with an unparalleled understanding of the short-term rental market, helping it make the right business decisions.
The latest investment complements JTV’s investment theme of “reimagining the accommodation experience”, and brings total funding in Transparent to $2.8 million.
Transparent CEO Pierre Becerril commented, “1 in every 3 beds available to travelers in the US are hosted in a vacation rental as opposed to a traditional hotel. As travelers’ appetite for this type of accommodation grows, there is a need for business intelligence tools to help market participants make informed decisions on pricing, investment and strategy.”
Becerril further added, “During COVID-19, 25% of bookings occurred in short term rentals, accelerating a long term shift toward this form of accommodation. JTV’s interest in our company is a reaffirmation of the vacation rental industry having moved out of the shadow of the hotel sector to emerge as a major player in the travel and hospitality ecosystem in its own right.”
According to Transparent, the rental industry is forecast to generate $75 billion in gross bookings in 2021.
Cowen & Co. analyst Conor Cunningham recently initiated coverage of JetBlue with a Hold rating and a price target of $21 (23% upside potential).
Overall, Cunningham has a bullish stance on the airline sector based on an expected travel boom during the upcoming winter holiday season, driven by increasing vaccinations, lower COVID-19 cases, and reduced travel restrictions.
The analyst added, “Our view is the rebound in leisure is supportive of current valuations, but additional upside in the shares will come with corporate and international travel surprising to the upside.”
Overall, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 5 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average JetBlue Airways price target of $22.18 implies 29.6% upside potential from current levels.
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