LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 76.3% to 3.56 million shares as of October 15, representing 1.3% of LATAM Airlines’ shares and 4.5 days of average trading volume to cover.
• The stock fell to $42.36, near its 52-week low of $41.44, while trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. LATAM previously exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.44 EPS and $4.12 billion in revenue.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with six Buy ratings and two Holds and a consensus price target of $66.27, despite recent rating downgrades to Hold from some firms.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,559,597 shares, an increase of 76.3% from the September 30th total of 2,018,982 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 798,579 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

NYSE LTM traded down $1.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,120,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,982. LATAM Airlines Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.44 and a fifty-two week high of $70.42. The company has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 3.64. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $49.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.87.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 101.21%. Analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LTM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings raised LATAM Airlines Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LTM. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 16.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,268 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group SA is a Chile-based airline holding company and one of the largest air transportation groups in Latin America. The group provides scheduled passenger and cargo services through affiliated airlines operating under the LATAM brand, connecting major cities within Latin America and serving destinations in North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and Oceania.

Its passenger business includes domestic and international flights, while its cargo operations transport freight using dedicated aircraft and cargo capacity on passenger flights.

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