Southwest Airlines Options Trading: A Deep Dive into Market Sentiment

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Southwest Airlines LUV.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with LUV, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 18 uncommon options trades for Southwest Airlines.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 22% bullish and 55%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 12 are puts, for a total amount of $1,587,585, and 6 are calls, for a total amount of $206,107.

What's The Price Target?

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $22.5 to $32.5 for Southwest Airlines over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Southwest Airlines options trades today is 1238.14 with a total volume of 43,523.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Southwest Airlines's big money trades within a strike price range of $22.5 to $32.5 over the last 30 days.

Southwest Airlines Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is the largest domestic air carrier in the United States by passengers boarded. Southwest operates nearly 800 aircraft in an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Despite offering some longer routes and a few perks for business travelers, the airline predominantly specializes in short-haul, leisure flights operated in a single, open-seating cabin configuration in a point-to-point network. In late 2025, Southwest will modify its cabins to offer some seats with extra legroom and will update its ticketing process to offer assigned seats.

Present Market Standing of Southwest Airlines

• Currently trading with a volume of 3,871,182, the LUV's price is down by -3.29%, now at $27.61.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 14 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Southwest Airlines

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $33.4.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access. * An analyst from Susquehanna persists with their Neutral rating on Southwest Airlines, maintaining a target price of $25. * An analyst from Raymond James has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Southwest Airlines, which currently sits at a price target of $42. * Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from JP Morgan keeps a Underweight rating on Southwest Airlines with a target price of $30. * An analyst from Melius Research has elevated its stance to Hold, setting a new price target at $34. * In a positive move, an analyst from UBS has upgraded their rating to Neutral and adjusted the price target to $36.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Southwest Airlines options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.