Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $69.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE ALK opened at $36.85 on Friday. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $36.68 and a 12 month high of $65.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.35.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Alaska Air Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -1.500–0.500 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-6.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $176,758.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,039.54. This represents a 12.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.81, for a total value of $794,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,887.95. The trade was a 41.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,204,569 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,175,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $159,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,350 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in 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 last quarter. Jain Global LLC bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth about $53,683,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1,563.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,092,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,710 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,583,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.