Alaska Air Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ALK)

Key Points

• Unusual Options Activity: Alaska Air Group saw a significant increase in call options trading, with investors purchasing 19,855 call options, representing a 364% rise compared to the average daily volume.
• Analyst Ratings: Multiple analysts have upgraded Alaska Air's stock, with Raymond James raising its rating to "outperform" and setting a price target of $70, while consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a target of $68.
• Recent Stock Performance: Alaska Air Group's shares declined by 2.6%, closing at $62.06, despite reporting better-than-expected earnings with a revenue increase of 27.9% year-over-year.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 19,855 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 364% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,280 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Kyle B. Levine sold 5,914 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.75, for a total transaction of $341,533.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 20,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,207,956.75. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $285,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,472,695.10. This trade represents a 10.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,306 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 9.0% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,523 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 15,565 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 102.1% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,761 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 7.9% in the second quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 372,013 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $18,407,000 after acquiring an additional 27,179 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $73.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.15.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock traded down $0.46 on Friday, reaching $63.40. 2,724,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,651. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $39.10 and a 1-year high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.65.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.33%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.400 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.250- EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.