The stock price of Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE: ALK) has dropped by -1.34 compared to previous close of 68.88. Despite this, the company has seen a gain of 0.77% in its stock price over the last five trading days. zacks.com reported 2025-01-22 that When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock’s price, but are they really important?
Is It Worth Investing in Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE: ALK) Right Now?
Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE: ALK) has a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33x that is above its average ratio. Additionally, the 36-month beta value for ALK is 1.55. There are mixed opinions on the stock, with 10 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 5 rating it as “overweight,” 2 rating it as “hold,” and 0 rating it as “sell.”
The public float for ALK is 126.46M and currently, short sellers hold a 5.20% ratio of that float. The average trading volume of ALK on January 22, 2025 was 2.55M shares.
ALK’s Market Performance
ALK’s stock has seen a 0.77% increase for the week, with a 8.84% rise in the past month and a 51.22% gain in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.68%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.70% for Alaska Air Group Inc. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 2.40% for ALK’s stock, with a 48.36% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of ALK
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for ALK stocks, with Susquehanna repeating the rating for ALK by listing it as a “Positive.” The predicted price for ALK in the upcoming period, according to Susquehanna is $95 based on the research report published on January 07, 2025 of the current year 2025.
TD Cowen, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see ALK reach a price target of $78, previously predicting the price at $68. The rating they have provided for ALK stocks is “Buy” according to the report published on December 11th, 2024.
TD Cowen gave a rating of “Buy” to ALK, setting the target price at $68 in the report published on December 04th of the previous year.
ALK Trading at 13.40% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought ALK to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -1.65% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.70%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.68%, as shares surge +5.49% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading +32.78% upper at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, ALK rose by +1.63%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +64.13% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $66.40. In addition, Alaska Air Group Inc saw 4.96% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further gains.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at ALK starting from SCHNEIDER ANDREA L, who sale 800 shares at the price of $63.89 back on Dec 19 ’24. After this action, SCHNEIDER ANDREA L now owns 20,286 shares of Alaska Air Group Inc, valued at $51,112 using the latest closing price.
SPRAGUE JOSEPH A, the CEO Hawaiian A/L of Alaska Air Group Inc, sale 2,325 shares at $64.38 during a trade that took place back on Dec 18 ’24, which means that SPRAGUE JOSEPH A is holding 19,340 shares at $149,686 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for ALK
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.07 for the present operating margin
- 0.2 for the gross margin
The net margin for Alaska Air Group Inc stands at 0.03. The total capital return value is set at 0.06. Equity return is now at value 7.51, with 1.85 for asset returns.
Based on Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK), the company’s capital structure generated 0.58 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.19. The debt to equity ratio resting at 1.37. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 6.15.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 1.27 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 4.03. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 1.28. The receivables turnover for the company is 21.09for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.55. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 0.60.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK) has seen better performance in recent times. Analysts have a mixed opinion on the stock, with some rating it as a “buy” and others rating it as a “hold”. It is worth mentioning that the stock is currently trading in close proximity to its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
