JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker double upgraded Spirit Airlines (SAVE) to Overweight from Underweight with an unchanged price target of $46. The stock closed Friday up 9c to $35.49. Down 20% year-to-date, Spirit's shares are the sector's worst performer, Baker tells investors in a research note. The selloff took place despite the removal of the pilot overhang and the unexpected lease-to-purchase swap "which negates much of the pilot impact on CASM," the analyst adds. Further, Baker now sees a "more plausible" path back to the $4 earnings per share range next year. The analyst this morning also downgraded shares of JetBlue (JBLU) to Neutral. He still likes the risk/reward profile on the "Big Three" relative to the discounters, and maintains Overweight ratings on American Airlines (AAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United Continental (UAL).

Strengthening the balance sheet remains a top priority for American. In the first quarter, the company reduced total debt by nearly $950 million and has now achieved more than $12 billion, or over 80%, of its goal of reducing total debt by $15 billion by the end of 2025.

The company said, :American is running the best operation in its history because of a steadfast commitment to operational excellence and strong collaboration across the entire airline. The company produced its best-ever first-quarter completion factor and improved its mishandled baggage rate year over year. American achieved these results despite air traffic control challenges and significant weather events across its network during the quarter."

Reports Q1 revenue $12.6B, consensus $12.6B. "The American Airlines team continues to build a reliable, efficient and resilient airline," said American's CEO Robert Isom. "While we aren't satisfied with our first-quarter financial results, we have a strong foundation in place, and we remain on track to deliver on our full-year financial targets. Our team is running a fantastic operation, driving revenue through our commercial initiatives, efficiently managing costs, and producing free cash flow to further strengthen our balance sheet."

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Merck (MRK), consensus $1.87... Caterpillar (CAT), consensus $5.14... Comcast (CMSCA), consensus 99c... Honeywell (HON), consensus $2.17... Bristol-Myers (BMY), consensus ($4.44)... Altria (MO), consensus $1.15... Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), consensus 35c... GE Vernova (GEV), consensus (37c)... Royal Caribbean (RCL), consensus $1.33... Tractor Supply (TSCO), consensus $1.72... Mobileye (MBLY), consensus (6c)... Textron (TXT), consensus $1.23... LabCorp (LH), consensus $3.48... Southwest Airlines (LUV), consensus (34c)... American Airlines (AAL), consensus (29c)... Harley-Davidson (HOG), consensus $1.51.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Says more A220s in service than E190s by the end of April. Says expects average of 11 aircraft to be out of service due to GTF issues through year. Says continues to work towards reaching agreement with Pratt & Whitney for compensation. Expects the number of grounded planes to increase above 2024 levels next year. Says continues to opportunistically look at hedging as a means of mitigating risk. Says 100% focused on executing on strategic initiatives.

Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. UP AFTER EARNINGS... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Says evaluating capital light growth options. Says Latin geography continues to be pressured from the elevated industry capacity, expecting unit revenue down mid-teens in Q2. Says $175M-$200M structural cost program achieved $100M in savings since program start. Says fleet modernization program achieved $70M in total program savings, increased expected size of program from $75M to $100M. Says Pratt & Whitney compensation accounting update driving incremental pressure on full-year CASM-ex Fuel guidance. Says actively exploring further cost savings opportunities in productivity, maintenance spend optimization and technology-enabled efficiencies. Says after deferring aircraft to smooth delivery profile, actively exploring opportunities to extend the life of about 30 A320 aircraft to supplement future growth. Says carrying a healthy unencumbered asset base. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call slides.

Sees FY24 CASM ex-fuel up mid-to-high single digits y/y. Sees FY24 CapEx ~$1.6B.

Reports Q1 revenue $2.2B, consensus $2.2B. "Thanks to our incredible crewmembers and our reinvigorated focus on improving reliability, our operation performed above plan in the first quarter, resulting in revenue and costs coming in better than expectations," said Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's chief executive officer. "As we look to the full year, significant elevated capacity in our Latin region, which represents a large portion of JetBlue's network, will likely continue to pressure revenue and we expect a setback in our expectations for the full year. We have full confidence that continuing to take action on our refocused standalone strategy is the right path forward to ultimately return to profitability again." "We've begun rolling out the initial components of our refocused plan. In the first quarter, we announced a number of significant network changes, which are designed to free up unprofitable flying and reallocate it to proven leisure markets where JetBlue has historically won" said Marty St. George, JetBlue's president. "Demand remained healthy in peak periods, and in particular, we saw encouraging performance from our domestic and transatlantic flying, as well as continued outsized demand for our premium seating options."