Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ALK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays set a $65.00 target price on Alaska Air Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.65.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 0.2%

ALK opened at $47.45 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week high of $65.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.33 and its 200 day moving average is $45.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.07. Alaska Air Group had a negative net margin of 1.19% and a negative return on equity of 3.11%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.000-1.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post -0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.67, for a total value of $263,251.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,975.76. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 910 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 14,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 38,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Alaska Air Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $0.91 from $0.40 and changed its Q4 2026 outlook to a profit of $0.15 per share from a projected loss of $0.38. These upgrades improve the near-term earnings picture for Alaska Air Group and may support investor sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased its FY2026 EPS forecast to a loss of $1.54 from a loss of $2.54, indicating expectations for materially better results even though the company is still projected to remain unprofitable for the year.
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term estimates were raised for Q4 2027, Q1 2028 and Q2 2028 to $1.80, $2.60 and $2.17 per share, respectively. Zacks also lifted its FY2028 forecast to $9.99 EPS from $9.75, pointing to an improved earnings-recovery trajectory.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks continues to rate Alaska Air Group “Hold.” Its forecasts imply a potentially strong recovery, including projected FY2027 earnings of $6.20 per share, but the current-year loss outlook and the lack of a bullish rating limit the positive signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Some estimates were reduced: Q1 2027 EPS fell to $0.52 from $0.74, Q3 2027 EPS declined to $1.94 from $2.34, and FY2027 EPS edged down to $6.20 from $6.31. These cuts suggest analysts see uneven quarterly performance during the recovery.

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.