Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 2,287 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,534% compared to the typical volume of 140 call options.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of SAIA traded down $4.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $337.27. The stock had a trading volume of 15,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,029. The firm has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 2.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $373.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $400.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Saia has a 52 week low of $249.32 and a 52 week high of $494.71.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.13. Saia had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 8.19%.The company had revenue of $956.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Saia will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAIA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Saia in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $439.00 price objective for the company. Evercore upgraded Saia from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Saia from $498.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $476.00 price objective on shares of Saia in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Saia currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.37.

Institutional Trading of Saia

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAIA. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Saia by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,545,731 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,072,160,000 after buying an additional 156,628 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Saia by 8.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 804,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $282,529,000 after acquiring an additional 63,486 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Saia in the fourth quarter worth $130,411,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the second quarter valued at $140,979,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the second quarter valued at $109,089,000.

About Saia

Saia, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia. Its principal operating subsidiary, Saia LTL Freight, provides less-than-truckload transportation, moving shipments from multiple customers in a single trailer. The company serves businesses across the contiguous United States and offers regional, interregional and long-distance freight services.

Saia’s services include standard and expedited LTL shipping, guaranteed delivery options, volume and truckload solutions, and specialized transportation for certain freight needs.