Spirit Airlines Stock Is Moving Higher Monday: What's Going On?

Spirit Airlines Inc SAVE shares are trading higher Monday after the company and JetBlue Airways Corp JBLUE announced Friday that they will appeal a ruling blocking their proposed merger.

What To Know: Last week, U.S. District Judge William Young determined that JetBlue’s planned $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines was anticompetitive and would harm consumers.

Spirit and JetBlue on Friday filed a notice of appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to challenge that ruling.

The potential merger has not been viewed positively in the markets for JetBlue, but it has been viewed as a positive for Spirit shareholders as the low-cost airline has faced financial difficulties including recent groundings related to an issue in its geared turbofan engines, according to Reuters.

Spirit shares climbed as much as 12% late Friday following the notice of appeal, but are still down over 50% since last week’s ruling. It’s not clear how long the appeal could take, but most appeals last months or longer.

JetBlue is up against a deadline to close the merger by July. If a deal is not reached by then, the two sides could vote to extend the closing date or terminate the merger.

Related Link: United Airlines Gears Up For Q4 Earnings: Investors Brace For Possible Turbulence

SAVE Price Action: Spirit Airlines shares are down approximately 55% over the last week. The stock was up 4.34% at $6.97 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

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