Alaska Air downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg downgraded Alaska Air (ALK) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $44, down from $55. Alaska Airlines announced it will acquire Hawaiian Airlines (HA) in an all-cash transaction of $18 per share, which equates to a Hawaiian equity value of just under $1.0B, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the synergy estimate is conservative and implied transaction metric is attractive. It views the transaction positively and believes it will drive meaningful long-term value creation. However, airline mergers face high execution risk, says Deutsche Bank. The firm swapped ratings on Alaska Air and Hawaiian Airlines.