Morgan Stanley expects Alaska Air’s expansion news to be received positively

Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker expects investors to positively receive the news that Alaska Air (ALK) will soon expand into Europe with direct flights from Seattle to Rome. While international growth was a key lever of the Investor Day plan, the firm had expected the initial focus to be largely on Asia destinations with a European expansion only coming closer to the back half of the 2030 12-destination plan. However, the early launch shows that management is on the front foot of growth, especially given Transatlantic fundamentals are likely stronger and more reliable than Transpacific at the moment. Morgan Stanley had called Alaska Air the “Fourth Legacy” given their ambitious Investor Day plan and this is another key step toward that target. the firm has an Overweight rating on the stock with a price target of $83.