Airline stocks hit their highest levels for 14 years, with the Bloomberg US Airlines Index increasing by 3.5%. United Continental Holdings shares led the charge increasing by 6.5%.
The gains were caused in part by the fact that JPMorgan raised earnings estimates for six US carriers. Jamie Baker revised his price target for United target to $95.50 from $74.50, while his target for American Airlines Group rose to $80.50 from $64.50.
Baker said investors are worried the predicted profits are false since they are so high and are being driven only by the decline in fuel prices, when in fact domestic fares are higher and trans-Atlantic capacity hasn’t risen as much as had been expected.