Alaska Air Group Sees Upswing and 3 Stocks at 52-Week Highs Tuesday

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK): Closing price $55.85

The International Air Transport Association posted global air travel demand statistics for January that indicated a continuation of the swell in passenger travel that appeared at the end of 2012. Generally, demand rose by 2.7 percent year-over-year, which is slightly ahead of the 2.2 percent expansion in capacity. Load factors stood at 77.1 percent. However, the IATA warned that strong demand for air travel driven by the Chinese New Year biased January’s figures, as the holiday period fell in January in 2012 and in February this year. Shares closed up 2.42 percent on Tuesday at $55.85, and have been traded in a 52-week range of $31.29 to $54.62.