https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ai...ded-2020-04-01

Airline stocks drop as 'near worst case' playing out, analyst says; American Airlines downgraded

Published: April 1, 2020 at 8:28 a.m. ET
By

Tomi Kilgore

Airline stocks were taking a dive in premarket trading Wednesday, as part of a broad stock market selloff in the wake of the White House's grim warning on the coronavirus pandemic. Analyst Joseph DeNardi at Stifel Nicolaus said the "near worst-case scenario" is playing out for airlines, with more stringent travel restrictions and quarantines being implemented are resulting in further demand weakness, and with concerns that COVID-19 will re-emerger later in the year. DeNardi expects airlines to suspend flying for a period this summer. He downgraded American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, -11.936%, JetBlue Airways Corp. JBLU, -9.553% and Mesa Air Group Inc. MESA, -8.359% to hold from buy, while upgrading Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings Inc. HA, -4.215% to hold from sell on valuation. Among the more-active airlines ahead of the open, shares of American sank 5.4%, JetBlue dropped 6.2%, Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, -15.749% shed 5.2% and Southwest Airlines Co. LUV, -8.958% lost 5.4%. The U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS, -10.183% declined 6.0% ahead of the open, while futures YM00, -3.370% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -3.680% slid 847 points, or 3.8%.