Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Short Interest Up 32.4% in March

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,931,257 shares, an increase of 32.4% from the February 26th total of 9,768,597 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,438,183 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 11.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALK has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.82.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK traded down $2.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.21. The stock had a trading volume of 4,965,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,194,779. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $35.89 and a 12 month high of $65.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.29.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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. Analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $311,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,745,789.64. This trade represents a 15.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 43,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,478,995.55. This represents a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569 in the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,046.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 96,932 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 92,416 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 60.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,423 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 81.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 340,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,747,000 after purchasing an additional 152,953 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the first quarter worth $1,318,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 80.5% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently 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.