Wall Street Zen Upgrades Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Alaska Air Group from “strong sell” to “sell”, even as the stock continues to receive broader support from other analysts.
• Most analysts remain bullish on ALK: 11 Buy ratings, 1 Hold, and 2 Sell, with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $67.12.
• Alaska Air Group recently reported a Q1 earnings miss, posting -$1.68 EPS versus estimates of -$1.61, while revenue came in roughly in line at $3.30 billion.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

ALK has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $62.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective (up from $58.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.12.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,952,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,025,237. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.33 and a beta of 1.28. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $33.03 and a 1-year high of $65.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.19.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.68) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.77) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -1.000--1.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,059,404 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $556,288,000 after purchasing an additional 110,628 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,348,163 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $233,463,000 after acquiring an additional 145,484 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 86.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,175,350 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $159,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475,350 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,962,620 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 588,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,777 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $108,166,000 after purchasing an additional 35,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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