Saia slides as investors reassess post-earnings optimism and freight-demand backdrop

Saia, Inc. (SAIA) is down 8.2% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: SAIA’s drop appears tied to a pullback after a sharp post-earnings move higher late last week, with investors re-weighting the outlook as management emphasized a weaker start to the quarter and the need for improving volumes/margins into Q2. The decline could also reflect broader sensitivity to mixed less-than-truckload (LTL) freight demand signals across the industry.

Details:

Saia’s April 30 update highlighted record first-quarter revenue, but also noted January and February were challenging, with improvement showing up later in the quarter.

Management commentary pointed to an expectation for sequential operating-ratio improvement in Q2 as volumes accelerate, which can increase skepticism if the market doubts the pace of the rebound.

Analyst actions in the days following earnings included price-target changes and rating updates, which can amplify volatility after a big move.

Recent industry reads on LTL trends have been mixed, with carriers pointing to uneven freight performance and shifting shipment/tonnage patterns early in 2026.

Sources:

SEC, Trucking Dive, StreetInsider, StockAnalysis

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$SAIA Insider Trading Activity

$SAIA insiders have traded $SAIA stock on the open market 14 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 13 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $SAIA stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

RAYMOND R RAMU (Exec. VP & Chief Customer Off.) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 6,226 shares for an estimated $2,293,995.
FREDERICK J III HOLZGREFE (President & CEO) sold 4,775 shares for an estimated $1,856,535
PATRICK D SUGAR (EVP Operations) sold 2,706 shares for an estimated $1,046,518
MATTHEW J BATTEH (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 2,026 shares for an estimated $773,391.
KELLY W BENTON (VP & CAO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 1,800 shares for an estimated $625,627.
DI-ANN EISNOR has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 797 shares for an estimated $294,948.
DONNA E EPPS has made 1 purchase buying 422 shares for an estimated $117,145 and 1 sale selling 422 shares for an estimated $117,075.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$SAIA Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 212 institutional investors add shares of $SAIA stock to their portfolio, and 231 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 493,938 shares (-75.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $161,280,635
CARTENNA CAPITAL, LP removed 315,000 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $102,853,800
CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS removed 303,638 shares (-21.4%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $99,143,879
VIKING GLOBAL INVESTORS LP removed 295,306 shares (-21.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $96,423,315
INVESCO LTD. added 222,494 shares (+31.7%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $72,648,740
UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 205,872 shares (-73.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $67,221,325
FREESTONE GROVE PARTNERS LP removed 188,083 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $61,412,861

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$SAIA Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $SAIA in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Barclays issued a "Overweight" rating on 01/15/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $SAIA, check out Quiver Quantitative's $SAIA forecast page.

$SAIA Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $SAIA recently. We have seen 15 analysts offer price targets for $SAIA in the last 6 months, with a median target of $445.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Ariel Rosa from Citigroup set a target price of $516.0 on 05/04/2026
Jonathan Chappell from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $476.0 on 05/01/2026
Christopher Kuhn from Benchmark set a target price of $500.0 on 05/01/2026
Brian Ossenbeck from JP Morgan set a target price of $465.0 on 05/01/2026
Brandon Oglenski from Barclays set a target price of $500.0 on 05/01/2026
Christian Wetherbee from Wells Fargo set a target price of $445.0 on 05/01/2026
Jason H. Seidl from TD Cowen set a target price of $445.0 on 05/01/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.