Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) from "hold" to "strong-buy", while the MarketBeat consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $24.67 consensus target and mixed analyst ratings (2 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Alignment Healthcare beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of ($0.05) versus a ($0.15) estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion (up 44.4% YoY), but the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and an extremely negative P/E ratio.
• Insiders have been sizable net sellers—including the president and CEO selling 36,749 and 250,000 shares respectively—and insiders sold about 1.47 million shares (~$28.7M) over the past 90 days, while institutional investors hold roughly 86% of the stock.

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ALHC. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.67.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

NASDAQ ALHC opened at $21.72 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Alignment Healthcare has a 12-month low of $11.63 and a 12-month high of $23.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -2,169.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.20.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 0.02% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 44.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Alignment Healthcare will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alignment Healthcare news, President Dawn Christine Maroney sold 36,749 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.84, for a total value of $655,602.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 1,058,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,889,223.92. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John E. Kao sold 250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total transaction of $5,252,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,104,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,218,507.41. This trade represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,474,097 shares of company stock valued at $28,679,550 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,917 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,296 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 6.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 2.3% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 37,752 shares of the company's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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