Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Altimmune from “sell” to “strong sell.” Analyst views remain mixed: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $14.33.
• Altimmune reported a quarterly loss of $0.15 per share, missing the $0.13 loss expected by analysts; higher research spending and funding needs were cited as concerns.
• The stock opened at $1.65, near its 12-month low of $1.58. CEO Jerome Durso bought 30,700 shares at an average $1.62 per share.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ALT. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Monday, September 21st. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.33.

Altimmune Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALT opened at $1.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 26.78, a quick ratio of 26.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business's 50 day moving average is $2.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.15. Altimmune has a 12-month low of $1.58 and a 12-month high of $6.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 0.16.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Research analysts expect that Altimmune will post -0.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Altimmune

In other news, CEO Jerome Durso acquired 30,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.62 per share, for a total transaction of $49,734.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,200 shares in the company, valued at $150,984. This trade represents a 49.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders bought 50,700 shares of company stock valued at $82,334. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altimmune

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALT. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Altimmune by 19.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 5,766 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Altimmune by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 30,787 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,787 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Altimmune by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 34,763 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 7,167 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altimmune by 21,755.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 8,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP increased its position in shares of Altimmune by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 56,810 shares of the company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 9,058 shares during the last quarter. 78.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Altimmune

These are some of the ALT headlines that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: B. Riley reaffirmed its Buy rating, providing supportive analyst sentiment, although the rating is not a guarantee of future performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter loss per share was $0.15, wider than the $0.13 loss analysts expected. Higher research and development spending contributed to the miss, and commentary has raised concerns about the company’s capital needs despite its current cash runway. Earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis characterized pemvidutide’s development as late and capital-intensive, underscoring the risk that lengthy trials and spending could weigh on ALT before any potential product revenue. Analysis

About Altimmune

Altimmune, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing peptide-based treatments for obesity and liver diseases. The company is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Its lead candidate, pemvidutide, is an investigational medicine that activates GLP-1 and glucagon receptors. Altimmune has studied the drug for obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a serious form of fatty liver disease. Altimmune's work focuses on advancing treatments through clinical development; pemvidutide is not an approved medicine.

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