Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Alaska Air Group Call Options (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 9,730 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 102% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,813 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $51.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.85.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 10.0%

NYSE:ALK traded up $3.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.82. 2,307,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,170,374. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.13 and a beta of 1.25. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $39.31 and a 200 day moving average of $45.50. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $33.03 and a 12 month high of $65.88.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.61) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.77) EPS. Alaska Air Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -1.000–1.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 242.5% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 43.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 838 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.