Traders Purchase High Volume of American Axle & Manufacturing Call Options (NYSE:AXL)

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 15,950 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,051% compared to the average daily volume of 1,386 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXL. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 267.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 825.6% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 6,225 shares during the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 91.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of AXL traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.29. The stock had a trading volume of 4,923,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,285,747. American Axle & Manufacturing has a one year low of $3.00 and a one year high of $8.35. The firm has a market cap of $984.50 million, a PE ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. American Axle & Manufacturing had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 0.72%.The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research note on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Axle & Manufacturing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.42.

American Axle & Manufacturing Company Profile

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc (NYSE: AXL) is a global designer, engineer and manufacturer of driveline and drivetrain systems and components for light vehicles, commercial trucks and off-highway applications. The company’s core product portfolio includes axles, driveshafts, half-shafts, drive module assemblies and differential gears, as well as advanced metallic and composite structures for electric and hybrid vehicles. AAM’s capabilities also encompass system testing, rapid prototyping and precision machining to support both high-volume production and low-volume, specialty vehicle applications.

Founded in 1994 following the divestiture of the Detroit Axle Division of General Motors, American Axle & Manufacturing completed its initial public offering in 1998.