Delta Airlines stock is a 'catalyst call buy' at Deutsche Bank, as recent underperformance should flip to outperformance

Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg has launched a "short-term catalyst call buy" on Delta Air Lines Inc.'s stock DAL, +1.45% Friday, saying he believes the underperformance so far this year will flip to outperformance in the coming months. The stock has edged up 5.9% year to date through Thursday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index XAL, +1.84% has climbed 16.9% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.08% has advanced 18.5%. Linenberg said this underperformance has come despite Delta being one of the most leveraged to corporate and long-haul international travel, which he believes will start seeing better demand. And with the last few months of the year being good time to own the airline sector -- the airline seasonal trade has worked in 16 out of the past 20 years -- Linenberg believes "Delta will be a favored name among 'new money' investors given that it is viewed as one of the highest quality names in the sector." The stock was down 0.8% in premarket trading.