Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alaska Air Group Call Options (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 6,142 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 111% compared to the typical volume of 2,916 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 17.1% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,906 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock traded up $2.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.57. 2,024,129 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,449,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.12.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group began coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Melius cut Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.44.

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.