Southwest upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg upgraded Southwest to Buy from Hold with a price target of $42, up from $28. The outlook for domestic capacity in 2024 has “dramatically changed” over the past four months as most airlines have moderated their growth plans following a second half of 2023 that was beset by over-supplied domestic markets, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes more moderate domestic available seat mile growth for 2024 will have positive implications for domestic unit revenue performance, and by extension, should translate into solid sales performance for the domestic-focused names. As such, Deutsche upgraded Alaska (ALK), JetBlue (JBLU), and Southwest (LUV) to Buy from Hold.