Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after UBS Group upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $63.86, but opened at $65.80. UBS Group now has a $90.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $56.00. Alaska Air Group shares last traded at $65.11, with a volume of 385,960 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ALK. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $73.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total value of $404,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,007,454.60. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kyle B. Levine sold 5,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.75, for a total transaction of $341,533.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,956.75. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,306. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 80.5% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 41.1% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 632 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 125.7% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 677 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.22. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.400 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.250- EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.