Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) Shares Up 8.7% - Still a Buy?

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 8.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $6.41 and last traded at $6.47. 724,862 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 2,825,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ALT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Altimmune from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Altimmune in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy 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 target price of $20.20.

Altimmune Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $535.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.31.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.09. Altimmune had a negative net margin of 199,076.92% and a negative return on equity of 55.81%. The business had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.34) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altimmune, Inc. will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Altimmune

In other Altimmune news, CFO Gregory L. Weaver purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.20 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $52,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Altimmune

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Altimmune by 214.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 4,598 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altimmune in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Magnus Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altimmune during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Headland Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altimmune during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Altimmune during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 78.05% of the company's stock.

About Altimmune

Altimmune, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing treatments for obesity and liver diseases. The company's lead product candidate, pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist that is in Phase 2 trial for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.