Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Altimmune to a "strong-buy" in a note to investors, marking the only Strong Buy among recent analyst ratings.
• Overall analyst coverage is mixed but tilted positive—one Strong Buy, six Buy, one Hold and two Sell—giving Altimmune an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.17.
• Shares opened at $5.12 with a market cap of $534.2M and negative earnings (last reported EPS ($0.21); analysts expect ~-1.35 EPS this year); insiders bought ~30,527 shares in the past 90 days and institutions own about 78.05% of the stock.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ALT. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Altimmune from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.17.

Altimmune Price Performance

NASDAQ ALT opened at $5.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.14. Altimmune has a twelve month low of $2.90 and a twelve month high of $7.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $534.22 million, a PE ratio of -4.79 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 17.18 and a current ratio of 17.18.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.00 million. Altimmune had a negative return on equity of 54.79% and a negative net margin of 419,575.00%. Research analysts anticipate that Altimmune will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Altimmune

In related news, Director Jerome Benedict Durso acquired 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $51,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,625. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Gill acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.10 per share, for a total transaction of $51,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 30,527 shares of company stock valued at $125,278. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altimmune by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,934,880 shares of the company's stock worth $7,489,000 after acquiring an additional 228,995 shares in the last quarter. Brown Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altimmune by 131.0% in the second quarter. Brown Wealth Management LLC now owns 231,083 shares of the company's stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 131,059 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Altimmune by 102.9% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 144,890 shares of the company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 73,482 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altimmune during the second quarter worth $610,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altimmune by 16.4% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 3,565 shares in the last quarter. 78.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altimmune Company Profile

Altimmune, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, dedicated to the development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. The company leverages proprietary technology platforms to create intranasal vaccine candidates and novel therapies targeting liver diseases and metabolic disorders. Altimmune's approach emphasizes the stimulation of both systemic and mucosal immune responses to address unmet medical needs in infectious and chronic conditions.

Among its lead programs, NasoVAX is an investigational intranasal influenza vaccine designed to provide broad, long-lasting protection through a single, non-invasive dose.

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