Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC)

Key Points

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Alector with an “overweight” rating and a $7 price target, implying 185.7% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst views remain mixed: MarketBeat reports a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $5.10.
• Company insiders sold 111,303 shares worth about $295,633 over the past three months; insiders retain 8.3% ownership.

Stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 185.71% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright began coverage on Alector in a report on Friday, November 6th. They set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $1.50 target price on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Alector in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alector from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Alector from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.10.

Alector Price Performance

Shares of Alector stock opened at $2.45 on Friday. Alector has a one year low of $1.09 and a one year high of $2.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.07 and its 200 day moving average is $2.05. The firm has a market cap of $273.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.61.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $1.34. The business had revenue of $162.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19 million. Alector had a return on equity of 112.21% and a net margin of 23.87%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alector will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Neil Berkley sold 29,251 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $77,807.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 350,649 shares in the company, valued at $932,726.34. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 72,606 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total value of $193,131.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,294,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,103,636. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 111,303 shares of company stock valued at $295,633 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alector by 8.2% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 106,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alector during the second quarter worth about $8,679,399. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Alector during the second quarter worth about $241,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Alector in the 2nd quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Elmind Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alector in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,809,000. 85.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Alector

Alector, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California, that develops investigational therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Its research focuses on the role of the immune system in the brain and how immune pathways may be used to address disease processes. The company's approach draws on human genetics and immunology to identify potential therapeutic targets. Its research has included programs targeting progranulin and TREM2, proteins associated with brain health and neurodegenerative disease.

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