Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Alignment Healthcare from a “strong-buy” to a “hold” rating, adding to a mixed analyst picture that still includes a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.30.
• The stock was trading lower, opening at $24.05 and down 2.1%, while still sitting near its 52-week high of $25.12 after a strong run from its $11.63 low.
• Alignment Healthcare reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.05 versus expectations for $0.01 and revenue of $1.24 billion, up 33.3% year over year.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alignment Healthcare from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Friday, April 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.30.

Alignment Healthcare Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ALHC opened at $24.05 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $19.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Alignment Healthcare has a 1-year low of $11.63 and a 1-year high of $25.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 267.22, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Alignment Healthcare had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 0.47%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alignment Healthcare will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John E. Kao sold 298,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.36, for a total value of $6,067,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,386,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,234,555.76. This represents a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joseph S. Konowiecki sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,103,816 shares in the company, valued at $26,491,584. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,069,951 shares of company stock valued at $20,846,518. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alignment Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,492,802 shares of the company's stock worth $305,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,218 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,070,893 shares of the company's stock worth $277,900,000 after buying an additional 2,981,166 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,643,784 shares of the company's stock worth $249,715,000 after buying an additional 79,268 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,202,592 shares of the company's stock worth $122,501,000 after buying an additional 1,735,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 5,015,881 shares of the company's stock worth $70,222,000 after buying an additional 300,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.19% of the company's stock.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare, Inc NASDAQ: ALHC is a health care company specializing in value-based care for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. The company leverages an integrated care model that combines in-home clinical services, telehealth capabilities and digital health tools to manage chronic conditions, improve outcomes and enhance patient experience.

At the core of Alignment Healthcare's approach is a proprietary technology platform that aggregates real-time clinical and claims data to support preventive care, risk stratification and personalized care plans.

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