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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 49,364 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 635% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,716 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,321,038.38. This represents a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $234,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,338,961. This trade represents a 14.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,973 shares of company stock valued at $2,852,892 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,743 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 678.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 105,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,277,000 after buying an additional 92,276 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 106.6% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 30,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 15,667 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 29,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALK. Melius Research upgraded 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. Melius upgraded 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup increased 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $72.15 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $72.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly 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 14.78% and a net margin of 3.37%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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.