Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) Short Interest Up 6.0% in September

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,750,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the August 31st total of 4,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALHC opened at $10.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.90 and a beta of 1.43. Alignment Healthcare has a 1-year low of $4.46 and a 1-year high of $12.36.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $681.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $637.66 million. Alignment Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 101.10% and a negative net margin of 6.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 47.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.15) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALHC. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target (up from $8.00) on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $4.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher J. Joyce sold 15,034 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.05, for a total value of $136,057.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 406,912 shares in the company, valued at $3,682,553.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Joseph S. Konowiecki sold 22,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $202,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,233,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,172,982.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Joyce sold 15,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.05, for a total transaction of $136,057.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 406,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,682,553.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 267,973 shares of company stock valued at $2,671,391 over the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 110.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 36,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 19,129 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 20.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 55,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,595 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lifted its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 10,901,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630,788 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,512,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 3,106,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,294,000 after purchasing an additional 185,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare, Inc, a tech-enabled Medicare advantage company, operates consumer-centric health care platform for seniors in the United States. It provides customized health care designed to meet the needs of a diverse array of seniors through its Medicare advantage plans. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Orange, California.