ALGT - Airline stocks: Allegiant Travel picked by Raymond James to outperform Mesa Air and SkyWest downgraded

Allegiant Travel Company ( NASDAQ: ALGT ) moved up 0.55% in early trading on Thursday after Raymond James upgraded the airline stock to an Outperform rating after having it set at Market Perform.

The firm pointed to an attractive risk-reward profile on ALGT at the current share pruce and believes it is likely better positioned to both withstand the fallout for ulta low-cost carriers from the regional airline industry dynamics and take advantage of the likely reduced service over time in its smaller markets.

Meanwhile, Raymond James cut its rating on Mesa Air Group ( MESA ) and SkyWest ( SKYW ) to Underperform from Market Perform on concerns that higher pilot wages being established across the regional airlines will diminish the earnings power of the two airline companies.

MESA fell 5.33% in early trading and SKYW shed 6.69% .

Sector watch: Airline traffic in U.S. tops holiday weekend pre-pandemic level for first time.

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