Citi ups Frontier Group target, opens ‘negative catalyst watch’

Citi raised the firm’s price target on Frontier Group (ULCC) to $7.15 from $4.70 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm also added a “30-day negative catalyst watch” on the shares. Although both Frontier and JetBlue (JBLU) appear to have significant overlap with Spirit Airlines, Frontier’s “mild pullback on Monday was a little puzzling” versus JetBlue’s 6% selloff, on the back of Spirit’s two-month reprieve from its credit card processor, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi believes Frontier’s 64% stock price jump over the past month versus JetBlue’s 32% gain “also appears fundamentally mismatched.” JetBlue’s share price seems to have begun pricing in the short-term downside, but not Frontier’s, contends the firm.