Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price Up 12.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 12.1% intraday to $46.11 on Friday, despite trading volume about 72% below the stock's average session volume.
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $63.33, while some firms have cut ratings to "strong sell" and others remain bullish.
• Alaska Air beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.43 vs. $0.11) but issued weak Q1 2026 guidance (-1.50 to -0.50 EPS) and FY 2026 guidance of 3.50–6.50 EPS, and insiders sold about 56,945 shares over the last 90 days.

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) traded up 12.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.35 and last traded at $46.11. 1,165,065 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 4,190,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ALK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays restated 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.33.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.23, a PEG ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.67.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.64 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $176,758.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,259,039.54. This represents a 12.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,478,995.55. This represents a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 67,158 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 6,892 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 144.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 84,257 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,234,000 after acquiring an additional 49,762 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake 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 valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,945 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,746 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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