Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL)

United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 68,953 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 268% compared to the average daily volume of 18,757 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

In other news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.91, for a total transaction of $2,398,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,765,668. This represents a 14.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO J. Kirby sold 159,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total value of $18,807,844.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 797,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,186,310.55. The trade was a 16.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 221,629 shares of company stock worth $26,328,598 in the last three months. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Airlines in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 393.0% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 212 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Stock Performance

NASDAQ UAL traded down $1.99 during trading on Monday, reaching $110.52. 3,178,281 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,728,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.30. United Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $84.64 and a fifty-two week high of $138.77.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.11. United Airlines had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 5.56%.The company had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. United Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-11.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Airlines will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on United Airlines from $192.00 to $167.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on United Airlines from $157.50 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Airlines from $131.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $172.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.62.

About United Airlines

United Airlines Holdings, Inc is the parent company of United Airlines, a major U.S. commercial airline. Through its mainline operations and regional partners, United provides scheduled passenger air transportation and air cargo services to destinations across the United States and international markets.

United operates an extensive global network serving North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its principal hubs include Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington, DC The airline offers multiple classes of service, including United Polaris business class, United First, United Premium Plus, Economy Plus and standard economy.

United traces its history to 1926 and has grown through the consolidation of several aviation businesses.