Edward Shapiro, a director at United Airlines Holdings (UAL), recently picked up 50,000 shares. The buy represents an initial stake by the director. The total cost to acquire the shares came to just over $2.35 million.
This is the first insider buy at the company since late 2020. Over the past three years, company executives have been sellers of shares, with only a handful of buys from company directors.
Overall, company insiders own 0.3 percent of shares.
The airline company has seen its stock decline about 22 percent in the past year. Revenues have soared over the past year, although the company has yet to get back to its pre-pandemic profitability.
Action to take: In the most recent quarter, shares went for about 10 times earnings. However, rising fuel costs could likely weigh on the airlines for some time to come. Investors might want to consider picking up shares if they get back to $30, near the stock’s 52-week low. Shares do not pay a dividend at this time.
For traders, shares have largely been rangebound in the past few months. A potential move to the lower end of the range could be in the cards in the coming months. The September $40 puts, last going for about $2.65, could produce double-digit returns on another leg down for shares.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may further trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.