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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 21,938 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 168% compared to the average daily volume of 8,184 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. The trade was a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,198 shares of company stock valued at $13,415,604 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,231,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded down $5.10 on Monday, reaching $55.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,461,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,786,467. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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.