Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Price Target Raised to $8.00

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) had its target price lifted by HC Wainwright from $5.00 to $8.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 328.95% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ALEC. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1.50 price target on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Alector from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alector from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Alector Trading Down 0.3%

ALEC traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.86. 1,042,787 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,502,344. Alector has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $3.40. The company has a quick ratio of 5.26, a current ratio of 5.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.10 and its 200 day moving average is $2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.25 million, a PE ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 0.62.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 million. Alector had a negative return on equity of 531.03% and a negative net margin of 850.13%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alector will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alector

In related news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 72,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total value of $193,131.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,294,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,103,636. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Neil Berkley sold 29,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $77,807.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 350,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,726.34. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,303 shares of company stock valued at $295,633. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alector

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alector in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,774,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alector in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,679,399. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Alector during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,126,896. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alector during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,796,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alector by 235.0% during the fourth quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 3,350,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,226,000 after buying an additional 2,350,000 shares during the period. 85.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alector Company Profile

Alector, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s approach, known as immuno-neurology, seeks to use the immune system to protect brain health and address biological mechanisms involved in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Alector’s pipeline includes latozinemab, an antibody designed to increase levels of progranulin, a protein associated with the health and function of brain cells.