Airline stocks have taken a pummeling over the last few months, with many falling from their highs in early July and bottoming in mid-September. However, amidst that massive decline, some stocks posted a notable turnaround, moving up notably.
One of those stocks is Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV - Get Report) . After falling from a high of $64 in July, shares traded below $50 intraday in early September, before rebounding sharply to current levels. After tagging $55, the stock has pulled back some and appears to be resting.
However, it could fly much further. JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker came out with a number of new ratings on Friday, including coverage of United Continental (UAL - Get Report) , Spirit Airlines (SAVE - Get Report) , American Airlines (AAL) and of course, Southwest Airlines.
For LUV stock, Baker made the case that shares could go to $66, an increase of $6 per share or 10% from his prior price target of $60. From current levels, that would represent a rally of about 22% for Southwest stock. Given its fall from $64 to $54, the risk-reward is more compelling, he says, assigning an outperform rating on LUV stock.
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For UAL, AAL and SAVE, he downgraded all three to a neutral rating.
As for impact, Baker's moves have LUV stock up 0.12% in morning trading, to $54.47. However, it's pressuring others, with AAL stock down 0.55% to $45.93, UAL stock down 3% to $59.27 and SAVE stock down 2% to $34.12.
Southwest Airlines is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells LUV? Learn more now.
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