Short Interest in LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Increases By 89.0%

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,397,117 shares, a growth of 89.0% from the July 15th total of 1,797,135 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 663,105 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LTM. Wall Street Zen cut LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.60 target price on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LATAM Airlines Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LTM stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.15. 488,131 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 717,841. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.21 and its 200 day moving average is $53.62. The company has a market capitalization of $14.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 3.62. LATAM Airlines Group has a 1 year low of $41.41 and a 1 year high of $70.42.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 101.21%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LATAM Airlines Group will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the first quarter worth about $578,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the first quarter worth about $428,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 641.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 346,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,126,000 after acquiring an additional 299,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $388,000.

About LATAM Airlines Group

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.