Alaska Air Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 49,364 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 635% compared to the typical volume of 6,716 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In related news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,973 shares of company stock worth $2,852,892 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,283 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,391,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,664. The stock has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $72.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.90.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. On average, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

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.