Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Trading Down 7.5% – Here’s What Happened

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s stock price dropped 7.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $44.69 and last traded at $44.71. Approximately 1,881,376 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 3,446,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Alaska Air Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.40.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 9.5%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.92.

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 firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.81, for a total transaction of $794,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,887.95. This trade represents a 41.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the business’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 value of $176,758.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,977 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,039.54. This trade represents a 12.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,204,569 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 38.4% in the fourth 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 period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,746 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 153,340 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position 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 worth $5,080,000 after acquiring an additional 67,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth about $2,200,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alaska Air Group

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.