American Axle & Manufacturing Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AXL)

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 3,000 put options on the company. This is an increase of 106% compared to the average daily volume of 1,453 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 465.1% in the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 1,944,668 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,512 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 201.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,246,559 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,267,000 after buying an additional 832,726 shares during the period. JB Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 622.6% in the first quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 957,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 825,000 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 77.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,550,521 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $6,311,000 after buying an additional 679,042 shares during the period. Finally, Lonestar Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Axle & Manufacturing in the 4th quarter worth about $3,893,000. 91.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE:AXL traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4.16. The stock had a trading volume of 467,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.38, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $493.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 1.58. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 1-year low of $3.00 and a 1-year high of $7.65. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $4.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.84.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The auto parts company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXL. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.93.

American Axle & Manufacturing Company Profile

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc engages in the manufacture, engineering, design, and validation of driveline systems and related components. It operates through the Driveline and Metal Forming segments. The Driveline segment consists of axles, drive shafts, power transfer units, rear drive modules, and electric and hybrid driveline products and systems for light trucks, service utility vehicles, crossover vehicles, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles.

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