Short City Update: WPO: stopped-out; JBLU: cover short

Posted Sep 10th 2009 5:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro
Filed under: JetBlue Airways (JBLU)

Here's an update on two shorts: The Washington Post and JetBlue:

Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO). Short price on May 6, 2009: $344.72. Stopped out for loss at $460. Dead wrong with this one: can't win them all. The Post's education segment has grown revenue enough to offset the declines at the signature print newspaper. A modest U.S. recovery will continue to weigh on the print newspaper side's revenue and earnings, but cost cuts and the development of its online unit mean WPO will be a metro daily survivor after the news/media sector's Internet-compelled transformation.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU). Short Price on May 6, 2009: $6.04. Recent price: $6.10. Recommendation: Cover Short/Close Position. Intense price competition in the airline sector remains the order of the day, but moderate (but not low) jet fuel prices, and the elimination of older aircraft should help JetBlue return to profitability in 2009. It's not a Buy yet, but Cover Short/Close Position.

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Disclosure: Lazzaro has no positions in stocks, but does own shares in two Pimco Bond Funds: PHDAX and PYMAX.

Tags: JBLU, Washington Post Co., WPO