Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 4,351,483 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the previous session’s volume of 3,567,275 shares.The stock last traded at $42.03 and had previously closed at $43.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ALK shares. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.40.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.6%

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.87. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The business had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,259,039.54. This represents a 12.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total value of $311,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,789.64. The trade was a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 21,024 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,834 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,746 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 973,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,974,000 after buying an additional 153,340 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 205.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,998 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,080,000 after buying an additional 67,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,200,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.