Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Alcoa (NYSE:AA)

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 39,703 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 118% compared to the average volume of 18,245 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA opened at $37.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.69. The stock has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 2.47. Alcoa has a one year low of $24.86 and a one year high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 1.45% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alcoa will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AA. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Alcoa in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 1,945.5% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Alcoa by 399.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.