Will American Airlines Fill The Overhead Gap?

On June 3, American Airlines Group, Inc. AAL announced its plans for “The Great American Summer” with the addition of 150 new routes being added to reunite its global customers “with family, friends and the great outdoors.”

American Airlines’ stock chart looks to be gearing up to travel north as well. Between May 24 and Monday, June 7, the stock has created a bull flag pattern just under resistance near the $26 mark. The level of resistance coincides with the bottom of a gap left when the pandemic first began in February 2020. Because gaps fill 90% of the time, American Airlines could pop and run back toward the $27 level to fill the gap.

A number of options traders are betting American Airlines will break bullish into the gap within the next couple of weeks and purchased over $387.944 in call contracts, with most expiring on June 18.

Why It’s Important: When a sweep order occurs, it indicates the trader wanted to get into a position quickly and is anticipating an imminent large move in stock price. A sweeper pays market price for the call option instead of placing a bid, which sweeps the order book of multiple exchanges to fill the order immediately.

These types of call option orders are usually made by institutions, and retail investors can find watching for sweepers useful because it indicates “smart money” has entered into a position.

See Also: Is American Airlines Stock About To Take Off?

The American Airlines Option Trades: Below is a look at the notable options alerts, courtesy of Benzinga Pro:

  • At 9:36 a.m., Monday a trader executed a call sweep, near the ask, of 505 American Airlines options with a strike price of $23 expiring on June 18. The trade represented a $79,285 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.57 per option contract.
  • At 9:38 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep, near the ask, of 206 American Airlines options with a strike price of $28 expiring on June 18. The trade represented a $88,580 bullish bet for which the trader paid $4.30 per option contract.
  • At 9:40 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep, near the ask, of 350 American Airlines options with a strike price of $23 expiring on June 18. The trade represented a $58,800 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.68 per option contract.
  • At 9:41 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep, near the ask, of 3132 American Airlines options with a strike price of $26 expiring on 11. The trade represented a $34,452 bullish bet for which the trader paid 11 cents per option contract.
  • At 9:57 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep, near the ask, of 350 American Airlines options with a strike price of $23 expiring on June 18. The trade represented a $56,700 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.62 per option contract.
  • At 10:14 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep, near the ask, of 289 American Airlines options with a strike price of $22.50 expiring on July 2. The trade represented a $70,227 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.43 per option contract.

AAL Price Action: Shares of American Airlines were trading around $24.35.

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Posted In: OptionsTravelMarketsTrading IdeasGeneral
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