Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ALK. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.82.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 1.9%

ALK opened at $39.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.75. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $36.68 and a fifty-two week high of $65.88.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -1.500–0.500 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-6.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.81, for a total value of $794,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,887.95. This represents a 41.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total transaction of $1,371,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 43,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,478,995.55. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,204,569. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 144.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 84,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 49,762 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 618.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 42,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 36,945 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 5,834 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,746 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 973,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,974,000 after buying an additional 153,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Alaska Air Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Alaska Air Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital initiated coverage with an “outperform”/strong-buy stance and a $50 price target (roughly +27.5% vs. recent levels), which likely triggered buy-side flows and positive sentiment. BMO Capital initiates coverage
• Positive Sentiment: BMO research and follow-up notes highlight long-term upside based on fleet/capacity positioning and cost initiatives, reinforcing the bullish case behind the upgrade. BMO Capital sees long-term upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Management held its Q1 guidance and emphasized demand remains strong; the company is exploring a Singapore fuel-purchase plan to reduce fuel costs—this stabilizes near-term outlook but is not a guarantee of margin improvement. Alaska Air holds Q1 guide; Singapore fuel plan
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent market recap noted Alaska outperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting the combined impact of the BMO call and company commentary. Zacks market note
• Negative Sentiment: UBS issued a pessimistic forecast for ALK’s stock, which could pressure sentiment if other sell-side firms echo concerns. UBS forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Investors bought a large volume of put options on ALK—an indicator of increased downside hedging/speculative bearish positioning that can amplify volatility. Put option activity
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~32% in March to ~12.93M shares (~11.4% of float), signaling heavier bearish bets that could pressure the stock or fuel short-covering volatility. (Short-interest ratio ~2.4 days based on average volume.)

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.