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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 31,219 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 792% compared to the average daily volume of 3,500 call options.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 11,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.23. 1,557,116 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,260,062. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $49.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.17.

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.