Investors Purchase High Volume of Alaska Air Group Call Options (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 49,364 call options on the company. This is an increase of 635% compared to the typical volume of 6,716 call options.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK traded up $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,391,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,664. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $72.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.90.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.86.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,976. The trade was a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,321,038.38. This trade represents a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,973 shares of company stock valued at $2,852,892 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 27.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 16,743 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 678.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 105,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,277,000 after purchasing an additional 92,276 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 106.6% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 30,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 15,667 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 29,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.