Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $85,600.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total value of $149,683.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at about $5,066,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,312,000 after purchasing an additional 24,796 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $93,229,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,857,000 after buying an additional 18,233 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.5 %

ALK traded down $0.97 on Monday, hitting $64.86. The company had a trading volume of 518,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,326,645. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.74. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.86.

About Alaska Air Group

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.