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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 10,274 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 86% compared to the typical volume of 5,536 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ALK shares. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.86.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,321,038.38. The trade was a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 5,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Monday, reaching $64.86. The stock had a trading volume of 518,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,326,645. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.74. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $67.73.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.