Traders Buy High Volume of American Airlines Group Put Options (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 169,126 put options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof17% compared to the typical volume of 144,298 put options.

American Airlines Group Trading Down 4.0%

NASDAQ:AAL opened at $11.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.43. American Airlines Group has a 1-year low of $8.50 and a 1-year high of $19.10.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The airline reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $14.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 24.55% and a net margin of 1.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAL. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on American Airlines Group from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.76.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAL. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,190,000. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,012,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,693,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,333,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a network air carrier. The company provides scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo through its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, DC, as well as through partner gateways in London, Doha, Madrid, Seattle/Tacoma, Sydney, and Tokyo.