Alaska Air Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 11,786 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 89% compared to the average daily volume of 6,233 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,175,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $159,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475,350 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19,661.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,235,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,647 shares in the last quarter. Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,683,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1,563.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,092,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,378,000 after buying an additional 1,026,710 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the third quarter worth approximately $48,583,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target (up from $58.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.12.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.3%

ALK stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,952,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,025,237. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.19. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $33.03 and a 1 year high of $65.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.33 and a beta of 1.28.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.61) by ($0.07). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.77) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Alaska Air Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -1.000–1.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

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.