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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 31,219 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 792% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,500 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $47.89 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $50.16.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 31.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. 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.