Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) Stock Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Allegiant Travel shares broke above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $78.69 before closing at $76.58, up 7.3%.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $123.38, despite several recent target reductions and one Sell rating.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.19 versus $1.27) while revenue fell short of expectations; institutional investors own a substantial 85.81% of the stock.

Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT - Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.44 and traded as high as $78.69. Allegiant Travel shares last traded at $76.58, with a volume of 642,497 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALGT shares. Melius Research raised shares of Allegiant Travel from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Allegiant Travel from $145.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Allegiant Travel from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Allegiant Travel from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Allegiant Travel from $110.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allegiant Travel has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.38.

Allegiant Travel Stock Up 7.3%

The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.92. Allegiant Travel had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 0.90%. The firm had revenue of $943.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $982.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 36.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Allegiant Travel Company will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Allegiant Travel in the 2nd quarter valued at about $416,591,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Allegiant Travel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $175,636,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,013,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,232,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,737,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.81% of the company's stock.

About Allegiant Travel

Allegiant Travel Company is a leisure-focused travel company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its principal operating subsidiary, Allegiant Air, is a low-cost airline that provides scheduled and charter passenger service, primarily connecting smaller and mid-sized U.S. cities with popular vacation destinations.

Allegiant Air's business model emphasizes nonstop routes, low base fares and optional services such as seat selection, baggage, priority boarding and other travel-related amenities.

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