Morgan Stanley Lowers Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target to $78.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 89.42% from the company’s previous close.

ALK has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.31.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $41.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $33.03 and a 1 year high of $65.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.43. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.70, a PEG ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.27.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.61) by ($0.07). Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 0.51%.The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.77) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Alaska Air Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -1.000–1.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $176,758.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,259,039.54. This represents a 12.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,887.95. This trade represents a 41.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,204,569. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 910 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Lesa Sroufe & Co grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 36,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Alaska Air Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Hawaiian Airlines joining the oneworld alliance expands global feed to Hawai’i and complements Alaska’s existing alliance membership, increasing codeshare and transfer traffic potential for Alaska’s network. Hawaiian joins oneworld
• Positive Sentiment: Alaska and Hawaiian completed a shared passenger service system (Sabre) integration, enabling smoother bookings, unified loyalty benefits and easier operations — a material step toward capturing cross‑network demand and cost synergies. Shared PSS transition
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that American Airlines and Alaska are exploring a deeper international partnership (potentially joining transatlantic/transpacific joint businesses) point to a major upside if a broader JV or revenue‑sharing deal is struck. Partnership talks
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial win: Alaska upgraded its Amazon cargo contract, supporting ancillary revenue and fleet utilization. Amazon cargo upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ reactions are mixed: BMO raised its PT and Morgan Stanley trimmed its PT slightly but kept an overweight view; other shops adjusted forecasts after the quarter — consensus remains varied. Analyst moves MS price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings call highlights show capacity adjustments and commentary on cost pressure — useful context for analysts but not a definitive directional catalyst on its own. Earnings call highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed estimates (wider loss vs. year-ago) and management highlighted fuel volatility; the company suspended forward guidance, which has weighed on investor confidence. Earnings miss / gap down
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary note shares fell after the quarter as rising fuel costs, trimmed capacity and higher unit costs pressured margins — those macro pressures remain the primary near‑term downside risk. Fuel and cost concerns

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

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.