Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Alaska Air Group shares jumped 2.1%, opening at $42.45 after previously closing at $40.41, following CEO Benito Minicucci’s purchase of 25,000 shares worth approximately $1 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish: 11 analysts rate the stock a Buy, one rates it Hold and two rate it Sell, with a consensus price target of $64.35.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.92 per share, beating estimates of a $0.99 loss, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.07 billion. Institutional investors own approximately 81.9% of the stock.

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $40.41, but opened at $42.45. Alaska Air Group shares last traded at $41.1990, with a volume of 400,970 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Benito Minicucci bought 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 256,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,278,674.92. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $46.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $47.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.35.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.25 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $48.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.36.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Alaska Air Group had a negative return on equity of 3.11% and a negative net margin of 1.19%.Alaska Air Group's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.000-1.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post -1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALK. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 910 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 14,647 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,499 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 38,414 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,932,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source