Investors Buy Large Volume of American Axle & Manufacturing Call Options (NYSE:AXL)

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

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Up 7.2%

NYSE AXL traded up $0.55 on Wednesday, reaching $8.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,923,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,285,747. The firm has a market capitalization of $984.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 1.58. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 1-year low of $3.00 and a 1-year high of $8.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.65 and its 200-day moving average is $5.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.77.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXL. UBS Group raised their price objective 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 report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price target on American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.42.

Institutional Trading of American Axle & Manufacturing

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXL. UBS Group AG grew its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 760.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,503,827 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,058,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096,778 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC now owns 4,909,688 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066,924 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter worth $11,470,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 615.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,879,668 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $7,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Masters Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter worth $7,212,000. 91.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.