Alaska Air Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 21,407 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 958% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,024 call options.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $37.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.74. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $46.15. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 153,403 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ALK shares. Wolfe Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.