Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Shares Down 7.5% – Time to Sell?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) traded down 7.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $44.69 and last traded at $44.71. 1,881,376 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 3,446,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Alaska Air Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $77.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.40.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total transaction of $1,371,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,478,995.55. The trade was a 35.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total value of $311,465.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,745,789.64. This represents a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 80.5% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 242.5% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.