Bulls Pile on Airline Stock Amid Sector Headwinds

Group 1 - American Airlines Group Inc (AAL) is experiencing unusual options activity, with 165,000 calls traded, which is five times the typical volume, compared to 48,000 puts [1] - The stock has shown a bullish trend in options trading over the past 10 weeks, with a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 2.54, higher than 81% of annual readings [2] - AAL's stock price has decreased by 4.3% to $10.98, marking its fifth consecutive daily loss and a year-to-date deficit of 26.3% [3] Group 2 - Short sellers have a significant presence, with 50.87 million shares sold short, representing 7.9% of the stock's available float [4] - Despite the challenges, 13 out of 20 analysts still rate AAL as a "buy" or better, suggesting potential for downgrades that could further pressure the stock [4] - Options trading appears favorable for AAL, as it has historically outperformed options traders' volatility expectations, reflected in a Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 75 out of 100 [4]