Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Alector has an average analyst rating of "Hold", based on eight analysts, with a mixed split of two sells, three holds, and three buys. The average 12-month price target is $3.63.
• Recent insider selling included shares sold by CFO Neil Lindsay Berkley and CEO Arnon Rosenthal, with insiders selling a total of 115,760 shares over the last 90 days.
• The company’s stock was trading around $1.50, near its 52-week low of $1.09 and well below its high of $3.40. Alector also reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, but revenue came in far below analyst estimates.

Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.6250.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALEC. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $2.00 price objective on shares of Alector in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Alector in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Alector from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Alector from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Neil Lindsay Berkley sold 19,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.97, for a total transaction of $38,139.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 379,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $748,403. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 87,216 shares of Alector stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.97, for a total transaction of $171,815.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,367,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,663,395.82. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 115,760 shares of company stock worth $227,734 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alector by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,034,659 shares of the company's stock worth $17,863,000 after acquiring an additional 46,955 shares in the last quarter. Foresite Capital Management IV LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alector during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,064,000. 683 Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alector by 235.0% in the 4th quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 3,350,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,000 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Alector in the 4th quarter worth about $5,094,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alector by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,173,202 shares of the company's stock worth $3,390,000 after purchasing an additional 942,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.83% of the company's stock.

Alector Stock Up 2.0%

ALEC stock opened at $1.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.54 million, a P/E ratio of -1.26 and a beta of 0.60. Alector has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $3.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 5.25 and a quick ratio of 5.25.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.08. Alector had a negative net margin of 680.83% and a negative return on equity of 295.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.67 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alector will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Alector Company Profile

Alector is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2013, the company is focused on discovering and developing immuno-neurology therapies that target the innate immune system to treat a range of neurodegenerative disorders. Alector's approach aims to harness the body's natural defense mechanisms to clear pathological proteins and restore neuronal function in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia.

The company's pipeline includes multiple product candidates in both preclinical and clinical stages, with lead programs AL001 and AL002 advancing in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease studies.

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