Should You Buy Delta Air Lines Stock Before Earnings?

Delta Air Lines, Inc (NYSE:DAL) will kick off another highly anticipated earnings season, which will give investors some insight into the health of the economy as the Federal Reserve ponders when it will begin to slash interest rates.

Analysts expect the Delta Air Lines to report second-quarter earnings of $2.37 on revenue of more than $15.4 billion when it steps into the earnings confession before the open on Thursday, July 11.

DAL has seen mostly negative returns the day after its quarterly report, with seven of its last eight next-day sessions posting losses. The equity averaged a move of 3.4%, regardless of direction in the last two years, and the options pits are pricing in a bigger-than-usual swing of 8.8% this time around.

At last glance, DAL is up 1.7% to trade at $47.14. The security has struggled on the charts since hitting a more than four-year high of $53.86 on May 13. In fact, Delta Air Lines stock posted a weekly loss in all but one since that peak. Year-to-date, Delta Air Lines stock is 17.1% higher. 

Options traders have been optimistic towards the airline name. At the the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security's 10-day call/put ratio of 4.48 stands higher than 84% of readings from the past year. This means that calls are getting picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.