American Axle & Manufacturing Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AXL)

Key Points

• American Axle & Manufacturing experienced a remarkable increase in call options trading, with 16,046 options purchased, marking an approximately 844% increase from the typical daily volume.
• The company's stock opened at $6.27 and it has a market cap of $744 million, with a year-over-year revenue decline of 5.9%.
• Recent analyst ratings are mixed; while Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to a "strong-buy," it holds an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $6.75.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 16,046 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 844% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,699 call options.

American Axle & Manufacturing Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AXL opened at $6.27 on Wednesday. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 1 year low of $3.00 and a 1 year high of $7.03. The stock has a market cap of $744.00 million, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.31 and a 200 day moving average of $4.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The auto parts company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. American Axle & Manufacturing's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. American Axle & Manufacturing has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXL. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,269,263 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,400,000 after buying an additional 120,242 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing in the fourth quarter worth about $103,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 221.8% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 157,645 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 108,655 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 95,574 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 35,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 91.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXL shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $6.00 to $8.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.75.

About American Axle & Manufacturing

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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