Investors Buy Large Volume of Alaska Air Group Call Options (NYSE:ALK)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 6,430 Alaska Air Group call options, 47% above the typical volume of 4,360, suggesting increased bullish interest.
• Weak recent performance: Shares fell to $39.09, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.92 per share, although it beat analysts’ loss estimate.
• Mixed outlook: Analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $57.62, but several firms downgraded the stock or maintained sell ratings amid reduced earnings estimates. CEO Benito Minicucci separately bought $1.0 million of shares.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 6,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 4,360 call options.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,169,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,570,091. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.27. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week high of $60.63. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.86 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.07. Alaska Air Group had a negative return on equity of 3.11% and a negative net margin of 1.19%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.000-1.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post -2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Alaska Air Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price (up from $58.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays set a $52.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Ten 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.62.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, CEO Benito Minicucci bought 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.06 per share, with a total value of $1,001,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 256,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,278,674.92. This represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew Harrison sold 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.67, for a total transaction of $263,251.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,267,975.76. This represents a 17.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,407,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1,445.3% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 87,187 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,551,000 after purchasing an additional 81,545 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the second quarter valued at $2,230,000. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at $2,205,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,799,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Alaska Air Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna lowered its price target to $50 from $55 but maintained a positive rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. Alaska Air Group Stock Price Target Lowered at Susquehanna
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Alaska Air Group as one of two transportation stocks with a favorable Earnings ESP, suggesting the company may have a chance to surpass quarterly earnings expectations. These 2 Transportation Stocks Could Beat Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi reiterated its sell rating on Alaska Air Group, reinforcing a cautious analyst stance even as other analysts see valuation upside. Citi Sticks to Their Sell Rating for Alaska Air
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut estimates across multiple periods, including Q3 2026 EPS to $0.37 from $0.91, Q4 2026 EPS to $0.01 from $0.15, and full-year 2026 EPS to a loss of $2.21 from a loss of $1.54. It also reduced FY2027 EPS to $5.65 from $6.20 and FY2028 EPS to $9.39 from $9.99, indicating weaker expected profitability and a slower earnings recovery. Q3 EPS Estimates for Alaska Air Group Cut by Zacks Research

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc is an airline holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Its principal subsidiaries are Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which provide scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, as well as Horizon Air, a regional airline that operates flights for Alaska Airlines. The group also owns McGee Air Services, an aviation services provider.

Alaska Airlines serves destinations across Alaska, the contiguous United States, Canada, Mexico, and other locations in North America.

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.