Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,252,311 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the January 15th total of 1,854,477 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 452,055 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 14.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 14.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 452,055 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Allegiant Travel

In other Allegiant Travel news, Chairman Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.23, for a total value of $19,990,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,962,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,159,012.04. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 300,000 shares of company stock worth $34,350,512. Corporate insiders own 14.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegiant Travel

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALGT. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,747,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,405,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Allegiant Travel by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,506,633 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $82,789,000 after buying an additional 156,186 shares in the last quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,124,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Allegiant Travel by 195.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 127,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,023,000 after acquiring an additional 84,555 shares during the period. 85.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allegiant Travel Trading Down 3.8%

Allegiant Travel stock opened at $109.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of -42.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.64. Allegiant Travel has a 12 month low of $39.80 and a 12 month high of $118.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Allegiant Travel from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America raised Allegiant Travel from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Allegiant Travel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore raised their price objective on Allegiant Travel from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Allegiant Travel from $60.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegiant Travel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.18.

Allegiant Travel Company Profile

Allegiant Travel Company is a holding company that operates Allegiant Air, a low?cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter air service. The company focuses on connecting underserved secondary markets with popular vacation destinations across the United States. By targeting price?sensitive leisure travelers, Allegiant Air operates a point?to?point network that avoids the traditional hub?and?spoke model, providing non?stop flights from smaller cities to resort and entertainment hubs.

In addition to its core flight operations, Allegiant Travel Company offers packaged travel services that include hotel accommodations, rental cars and attraction tickets through its online portal.