United Airlines announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan, underscoring a seeming return to an investor focus that had diminished in the pandemic.

United Airlines was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 on Wednesday after the carrier's executives said the airline industry had reached a long-awaited "inflection point," supporting the company's rosy business outlook.

On the back of a strong quarterly earnings report and a subsequent clutch of analyst price target raises, the company's shares experienced quite a lift. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, they were up by almost 19% in value week to date as of Friday prior to market open.

United Airlines shares are soaring. The company's stock price was recently up 12% to more than $71, on pace for its highest close since the pandemic-induced selloff of February 2020. The daily gain, which made United the top performer in the S&P 500,