Alaska Air’s stock surges to pace Dow transports gainers after analyst upgrade
Shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. rallied 3.6% in afternoon trade Thursday, enough to pace the Dow Jones Transportation Average’s gainers, after the air carrier was upgraded at Imperial Capital, which cited expectations of industry-leading unit revenue growth in 2019. Analyst Michael Derchin raised his rating to outperform from in line. He boosted his stock price target to $95, which is 37% above current levels, from $62. The top five gainers within the Dow transports, which rose 0.4%, were all air carrier stocks. Among them, shares of JetBlue Airways Inc. climbed 2.3%, American Airlines Group Inc. rose 1.9%, Delta Air Lines Inc. got a 1.3% lift and Southwest Airlines Co. advanced 1.2%. Meanwhile, the NYSE Arca Airline Index rose 1.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on 128 points, or 0.5%.