American Airlines flight 718, the first U.S. Boeing 737 MAX commercial flight since regulators lifted a 20-month grounding in November, takes off from Miami, Florida, December 29, 2020.
Marco Bello | Reuters
American Airlines authorized the sale of another $1 billion in stock, the carrier said in a filing Friday, an effort to shore up cash as Covid-19 continues to depress travel demand.
American authorized a $1 billion stock sale in October and sold $882.4 million at $12.87 a share. Under the new agreement, it would sell up to $1.12 billion.
American’s decision comes on the heels of a sharp rally in its stock price earlier this week after it was mentioned in the popular WallStreetBets Reddit forum. The airline declined to comment on whether the stock move factored into its decision. The carrier is the most-shorted U.S. airline.
American’s shares fell more than 5% on Friday to $17.17, but ended the week up 8.5%. Other airline stocks fell this week.
American and Southwest Airlines each reported record 2020 losses on Thursday. U.S. airlines lost about $34 billion last year.
