Forward Air Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:FWRD)

Forward Air Co. (NASDAQ:FWRD) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 9,170 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 867% compared to the typical volume of 948 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FWRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Forward Air in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Forward Air from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Forward Air from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Forward Air currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Institutional Trading of Forward Air

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 755,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,376,000 after purchasing an additional 79,960 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 742.9% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 463,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,951,000 after purchasing an additional 408,600 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,270,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Forward Air by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 380,947 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,286,000 after purchasing an additional 57,854 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Forward Air during the 4th quarter valued at $11,140,000. 97.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Forward Air Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FWRD traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.94. 173,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 856,087. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.37. Forward Air has a 52 week low of $11.21 and a 52 week high of $40.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.38 million, a P/E ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 1.08.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Expedited Freight and Intermodal. The Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.