Market Whales and Their Recent Bets on LUV Options - Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Whales with a lot of money to spend have taken a noticeably bullish stance on Southwest Airlines.

Looking at options history for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) we detected 12 trades.

If we consider the specifics of each trade, it is accurate to state that 50% of the investors opened trades with bullish expectations and 8% with bearish.

From the overall spotted trades, 6 are puts, for a total amount of $2,613,297 and 6, calls, for a total amount of $3,513,813.

Expected Price Movements

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $42.5 to $60.0 for Southwest Airlines during the past quarter.

Volume & Open Interest Development

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Southwest Airlines stands at 540.83, with a total volume reaching 4,986.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Southwest Airlines, situated within the strike price corridor from $42.5 to $60.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Southwest Airlines Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Biggest Options Spotted:

Symbol	PUT/CALL	Trade Type	Sentiment	Exp. Date	Ask	Bid	Price	Strike Price	Total Trade Price	Open Interest	Volume
LUV	CALL	TRADE	NEUTRAL	01/21/28	$13.2	$11.45	$12.24	$55.00	$1.8M	2.2K	1.5K
LUV	CALL	TRADE	NEUTRAL	01/21/28	$11.15	$9.4	$10.38	$60.00	$1.5M	171	1.5K
LUV	PUT	TRADE	NEUTRAL	01/21/28	$9.9	$7.95	$9.03	$52.50	$1.3M	0	1.5K
LUV	PUT	TRADE	BULLISH	01/21/28	$7.55	$6.6	$6.97	$47.50	$1.0M	2.0K	1.5K
LUV	PUT	TRADE	BULLISH	03/20/26	$1.12	$1.03	$1.05	$50.00	$99.7K	566	996

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 early 2026, Southwest will modify its cabins to offer some rows with extra legroom and will update its ticketing process and merchandising to offer assigned seats and more fare categories, including a basic economy class that will more directly compete with other airlines' offerings and appear for the first time in travel aggregators' search results.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Southwest Airlines, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Where Is Southwest Airlines Standing Right Now?

Trading volume stands at 3,336,344, with LUV's price up by 1.76%, positioned at $54.3.
RSI indicators show the stock to be may be overbought.
Earnings announcement expected in 71 days.

Expert Opinions on Southwest Airlines

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $50.7.

An analyst from Evercore ISI Group has decided to maintain their In-Line rating on Southwest Airlines, which currently sits at a price target of $45.
An analyst from UBS has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Southwest Airlines, which currently sits at a price target of $51.
An analyst from BMO Capital has elevated its stance to Outperform, setting a new price target at $57.
Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Morgan Stanley keeps a Overweight rating on Southwest Airlines with a target price of $55.
Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Jefferies keeps a Hold rating on Southwest Airlines with a target price of $45.

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.

LUVSouthwest Airlines Co

$37.56-0.11%

Overview

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.