subject: SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) Trading Up Nearly 4% on Analyst Upgrade [print this page] Based in St. George, Utah, SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) is the parent company for SkyWest Airlines. The firm was in the spotlight on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 when they announced the stock was given an outperform rating by advisor firm AvondalePartners. According to Avondale, the aggressive tactics launched recently by SkyWest concerning the merger with WMM MicroCap company ExpressJet Holding (NYSE: XJT) and based on the use of cash liquidity to drive the company's growth, could result in a significant increase in the company stock price.
On August 4th, 2010, SkyWest had announced the merging with ExpressJet Airlines. The aggressive move confirmed the perception of a clear intention of the company to expand a great deal in the near future. Moreover, SkyWest's Chief Financial Officer, Brad Rich, revealed that the aim of the company was to combine the airlines within 12 months, and forecasted a bold $60 to $70 million in cost savings.
The announcement marked a remarkable day for ExpressJet, with the announcement fueling a frenzy that sent share prices up over 100% to close at $6.75. The recent facts influenced the expectations of research analysts', as the Avondale significantly increased in SkyWest's price target by 14.29% and slapped an outperform rating for the next 12 months (price target raised from $14 to $16 per share). Next move for SkyWest is an investment of $7 million in Vietnamese start-up Mekong Air, providing four regional jets and technical support. This editor made the contact with Mike Kropp, Chief Financial Officer for SkyWest to invite him to an interview with James Ream, Chief Executive Officer of Expressjet. Mr. Kropp has given a verbal commitment for a mid-September interview, which will be posted here on the homepage.
