Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.23.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $35.43 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.10 and a beta of 1.33. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $32.33 and a 1-year high of $60.63.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Alaska Air Group had a negative return on equity of 5.42% and a negative net margin of 2.58%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post -3.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, CEO Benito Minicucci purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $40.06 per share, with a total value of $1,001,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew Harrison sold 5,300 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 25,528 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,975.76. This represents a 17.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth approximately $606,307,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $168,467,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,776,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,751,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alaska Air Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Alaska Air Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alaska Air reported strong revenue momentum in the third quarter, with revenue rising 14.4% year over year to approximately $4.31 billion. Premium traffic increased 24.5%, while diversified revenue streams reached 54% of the total mix, helping reduce the company’s reliance on traditional passenger fares. Alaska Air: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Strong yields and revenue growth supported better-than-expected underlying third-quarter earnings in some analyst assessments, indicating that pricing power and demand remain favorable. ALK Q3 Earnings Beat on Strong Yields Despite Fuel Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan and Susquehanna both reduced their price targets, to $74 and $43, respectively, but maintained bullish ratings of “overweight” and “positive.” The target cuts reflect lower near-term expectations rather than a shift to a bearish outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Fuel inflation is the primary concern. Higher fuel expenses squeezed third-quarter profitability and are expected to weigh more heavily in the fourth quarter, overshadowing the company’s traffic and revenue gains. Alaska Air Group Stock Slides As Q3 Results Deepen Fuel Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Alaska Air guided to a fourth-quarter 2026 loss of $2.50 to $2.00 per share, substantially worse than the $1.14 loss analysts expected. Third-quarter EPS also came in slightly below the consensus estimate in the company’s reported results, reinforcing concerns about margin pressure. Alaska Air Group Fourth-Quarter Guidance

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc is an airline holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Its principal subsidiaries include Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which operate under separate brands while serving passengers throughout North America, the Pacific and other international markets.

Alaska Airlines provides scheduled passenger and air cargo services across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Bahamas, with a strong presence on the U.S. West Coast and in Alaska.