Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,931,257 shares, a growth of 32.4% from the February 26th total of 9,768,597 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,438,183 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 11.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of the 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 owned 30,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,745,789.64. This trade represents a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $176,758.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,039.54. This trade represents a 12.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.8% during the fourth 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. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $62,166,000 after buying an additional 1,229,647 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at $53,683,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1,563.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,092,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,583,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 6.9%

NYSE ALK traded up $2.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,578,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,162,213. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $33.03 and a one year high of $65.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 0.70%.The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ALK. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $69.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.82.

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.