This Is What Whales Are Betting On Southwest Airlines

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Southwest Airlines LUV.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with LUV, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 8 uncommon options trades for Southwest Airlines.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 25% bullish and 75%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $426,485, and 5 are calls, for a total amount of $275,698.

Expected Price Movements

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $22.5 to $35.0 for Southwest Airlines over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.

This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Southwest Airlines's options for a given strike price.

Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Southwest Airlines's whale activity within a strike price range from $22.5 to $35.0 in the last 30 days.

Southwest Airlines 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is the largest domestic air carrier in the United States by passengers boarded. Southwest operates over 700 aircraft in an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Despite offering some longer routes and a few perks for business travelers, the airline predominantly specializes in short-haul, leisure flights, using a point-to-point network. Southwest operates a low-cost carrier business model.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Southwest Airlines, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Present Market Standing of Southwest Airlines

• Trading volume stands at 5,064,734, with LUV's price down by -0.45%, positioned at $28.71.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be oversold.
• Earnings announcement expected in 35 days.

Expert Opinions on Southwest Airlines

In the last month, 4 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $32.75.

• An analyst from Argus Research upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $40.
• An analyst from Jefferies upgraded its action to Hold with a price target of $28.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from UBS downgraded its rating to Buy, setting a price target of $36.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Bernstein continues to hold a Market Perform rating for Southwest Airlines, targeting a price of $27.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Southwest Airlines with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.