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,” though broader analyst sentiment remains more favorable, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $65.65.
• Alaska Air Group shares opened at $47.42 and were down 2%, while the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.92 per share—better than the expected $0.99 loss—on $4.07 billion in revenue.
• An executive vice president sold 5,300 shares worth approximately $263,000; institutional investors own 81.9% of the company, compared with 1% insider ownership.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $60.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.65.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 2.0%

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $47.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.20 and a beta of 1.29. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $33.03 and a one year high of $65.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.78.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.000-1.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.67, for a total transaction of $263,251.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,975.76. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 200.3% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 754,321 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,942,000 after purchasing an additional 503,167 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 70,138 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,528,000 after acquiring an additional 26,310 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,059,404 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $556,288,000 after acquiring an additional 110,628 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter worth $2,205,000. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 455,934 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $22,933,000 after acquiring an additional 84,569 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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