Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Underweight

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $250.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SAIA. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Saia from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Saia in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Saia from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens raised Saia from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $414.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Saia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $352.55.

Saia Stock Down 6.8%

SAIA opened at $381.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. Saia has a one year low of $229.12 and a one year high of $507.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04 and a beta of 2.09.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The transportation company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $789.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $773.82 million. Saia had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, Director Donna E. Epps bought 422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $277.60 per share, for a total transaction of $117,147.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $514,115.20. This represents a 29.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Raymond R. Ramu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.57, for a total transaction of $266,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,726.14. The trade was a 16.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAIA. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Saia by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Saia by 0.5% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,182 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in Saia by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Saia by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 248 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Saia by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter.

Key Stories Impacting Saia

Here are the key news stories impacting Saia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated that network expansion and recent capital investments should drive scale benefits and targeted operating-ratio improvement of 100–200 basis points, signalling potential margin recovery over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue roughly matched/beat consensus — Q4 revenue was ~$790M (up 0.1% y/y) and slightly above some estimates — indicating demand stability even as volumes showed modest declines. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital spending and network build remain high but are being scaled back from 2024 levels; 2026 capex guidance is ~$350M–$400M, which supports the long-term network thesis but weighs on near-term cash flow. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings miss and profit decline: Q4 diluted EPS was $1.77 vs. a ~$1.90 consensus, and full-year EPS fell to $9.52 from $13.51 in 2024 — a notable drop in profitability. Operating income fell ~36.9% in Q4 and the operating ratio widened to 91.9% (from 87.1%), pressuring margins. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Management cited ~ $4.7M of elevated self‑insurance costs tied to prior-year accidents that impacted the quarter, highlighting expense volatility in claims/insurance. This contributed to the weaker operating income and higher operating ratio. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade amplified the sell pressure: Morgan Stanley cut SAIA from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $250 price target (well below recent levels), which likely accelerated intraday selling and raised investor concern about near-term downside. Read More.

About Saia

Saia, Inc is a publicly traded transportation company specializing in less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services across North America. Headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia, the company focuses on the efficient movement of time-sensitive freight for a diverse customer base that spans retail, manufacturing, automotive, and healthcare industries. By leveraging a network of terminals and service centers, Saia provides tailored solutions designed to optimize supply chain performance.

The company’s core offerings include regional, interregional, and national LTL shipping, supported by volumetric LTL and port intermodal services.