Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alaska Air Group Call Options (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 17,026 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 213% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,441 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,046.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 96,932 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 92,416 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 60.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,423 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 81.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 340,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,747,000 after acquiring an additional 152,953 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the first quarter worth $1,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 357,520 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,690,000 after acquiring an additional 9,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:ALK traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,922,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,071,324. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $41.15 and its 200 day moving average is $45.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.72 and a beta of 1.29.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.68) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.61) by ($0.07). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.77) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post -1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

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.