Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Short Interest Update

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,170,000 shares, a drop of 8.5% from the December 15th total of 5,650,000 shares. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Alector Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALEC opened at $1.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.29. Alector has a fifty-two week low of $1.60 and a fifty-two week high of $7.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.47 million, a PE ratio of -1.01 and a beta of 0.57.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. Alector had a negative net margin of 257.54% and a negative return on equity of 108.77%. The firm had revenue of $15.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.33 million. On average, research analysts expect that Alector will post -1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ALEC shares. HC Wainwright cut their price target on Alector from $35.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Alector from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered Alector from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Alector from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $9.00 to $1.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alector currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.75.

Insider Activity at Alector

In other news, insider Sara Kenkare-Mitra sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total value of $66,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 565,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,341.80. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 52,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $131,473.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,507,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,317,826.48. This trade represents a 2.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,161 shares of company stock valued at $239,806 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alector by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 68,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in Alector by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 129,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Alector by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 112,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP boosted its position in Alector by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 20,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 5,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alector during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alector Company Profile

Alector, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies for the treatment of neurodegeneration diseases. Its products include AL001, an immune activity in the brain with genetic links to multiple neurodegenerative disorders, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diseases; and AL101 that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.