Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target 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. Evercore set a $60.00 price target on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective (up from $58.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given 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 price target of $66.73.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $44.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week high of $65.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of -28.16 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.89.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.07. Alaska Air Group had a negative net margin of 1.19% and a negative return on equity of 3.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 910 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.0% in the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.0% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,499 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 38,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Alaska Air Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose about 10% year over year to $4.1 billion, and the company beat adjusted EPS expectations, showing demand and operational performance are still improving. Reuters: Fuel costs cloud Alaska Air’s outlook even as demand remains strong
• Positive Sentiment: Management said Q3 should benefit from strong unit revenue growth and some easing in fuel costs, suggesting a possible recovery later this year. PR Newswire: Alaska Air Group reports second quarter 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also highlighted operational milestones, including stronger on-time performance, expanded international service, and completion of a major Alaska/Hawaiian systems integration step. PR Newswire: Alaska Air Group reports second quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: The quarter was hit by an 85% surge in fuel costs, which management said added roughly $600 million in extra expense and pushed the airline to a second-quarter loss. Seeking Alpha: The War Against Iran Is Hitting Alaska Air Group Hard
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS guidance of $0.00 to $1.00 fell short of Wall Street expectations, which appears to be the main reason the stock is falling today. MarketBeat: Alaska Air Group earnings transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Rainstorms in Hawaii also hurt spring-break travel demand, reducing system unit revenue and adding to near-term margin pressure. Reuters: Fuel costs cloud Alaska Air’s outlook even as demand remains strong

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.