UBS Group Cuts Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target to $52.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price trimmed by UBS Group from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

ALK has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price (up from $58.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $46.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.12.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $41.18 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $33.03 and a 1-year high of $65.88. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of -26.23 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.91.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post -1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Benito Minicucci acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 256,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,674.92. The trade was a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,300 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.67, for a total value of $263,251.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,975.76. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth about $1,407,000. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,205,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,046.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 96,932 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 92,416 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19,661.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,235,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,647 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,230,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc is an airline holding company whose principal subsidiaries include Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air. The company provides scheduled passenger and air cargo transportation, along with related services such as aircraft maintenance and ground handling through affiliated businesses.

Alaska Airlines serves destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and other parts of North America, while Hawaiian Airlines connects the Hawaiian Islands with the U.S.