Smart Money Is Betting Big In LUV Options

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

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the positions 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.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 10 options trades for Southwest Airlines.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 60% bullish and 40%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $28,566, and 9, calls, for a total amount of $1,276,859.

What's The Price Target?

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $25.0 to $37.5 for Southwest Airlines over the last 3 months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Southwest Airlines's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Southwest Airlines's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $25.0 to $37.5 over the preceding 30 days.

Southwest Airlines Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

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.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Southwest Airlines, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Southwest Airlines's Current Market Status

• With a trading volume of 4,729,030, the price of LUV is up by 0.2%, reaching $29.33.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching oversold.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 28 days from now.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Southwest Airlines

4 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $32.75.

• Showing optimism, an analyst from Argus Research upgrades its rating to Buy with a revised price target of $40.
• An analyst from Bernstein persists with their Market Perform rating on Southwest Airlines, maintaining a target price of $27.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from UBS downgraded its rating to Buy, setting a price target of $36.
• An analyst from Jefferies has elevated its stance to Hold, setting a new price target at $28.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Southwest Airlines, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.