The paper said Alcoa's fourth-quarter results, due to be released after-the-bell on Monday, are not going to be pretty, saying it could post a "slight operating loss" due to the 20 percent drop in aluminum prices during the second half of 2011.

Alcoa, the word's second-biggest aluminum company, will benefit from being diversified with products from beverage cans and aeroplanes parts to casings for iPad tablets, the paper said.

With a tangible book value of $8 a share, the shares could go as high as $13 according to Morgan Stanley analyst Paretosh Misra, Barron's reported.

Alcoa shares closed at $9.16 on Friday.

(Reporting By Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Leslie Adler)