LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.29, but opened at $50.99. LATAM Airlines Group shares last traded at $51.3270, with a volume of 54,204 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.60 target price on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LATAM Airlines Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Up 4.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 3.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $53.84 and its 200-day moving average is $52.39.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 101.21% and a net margin of 9.69%. As a group, analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group S.A. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. lifted its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 1,478.6% in the second quarter. Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. now owns 326,007 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,996,000 after acquiring an additional 305,355 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $446,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $570,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 26.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group during the first quarter worth $578,000.

LATAM Airlines Group Company Profile

LATAM Airlines Group SA is a Chilean-based airline holding company formed in 2012 through the merger of LAN Airlines of Chile and TAM Linhas Aéreas of Brazil. The Group offers passenger and cargo air transportation services across South America and beyond, operating under a multi‐brand strategy that encompasses several nationally recognized carriers. Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, LATAM is structured to serve diverse market segments with full-service, premium and low‐cost offerings.

The core business activities of LATAM Airlines Group include scheduled domestic and international passenger flights, air cargo services and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities through its technical divisions.