Southwest shares gain on analyst upgrade, more optimistic industry outlook
Southwest Airlines' shares gained 1.9% yesterday, helped by an analyst upgrade. Argus Research upgraded Southwest from 'sell' to 'buy'.
GOL plans share issue
GOL's shares fell 3.4% yesterday, on news that the LCC plans to sell 51.8 milllion new and existing shares to take advantage of a rally in the equity market.
The offer includes 34.6 million new and existing preferred shares worth USD359 million (based on yesterday's close price), with the carrier also planning to sell 17.3 million new voting shares, which are untraded. GOL's preferred stock has almost doubled this year, following a rally of the Bovespa equity index.
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In Europe, easyJet's shares were marginally up (+0.1%) yesterday, while Ryanair gained 2.2% and Air Berlin's shares were up 1.3%. In the Asia Pacific region, AirAsia's shares remained unchanged yesterday.
Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 22-Sep-09