Zacks Research Downgrades Alpha Tau Medical (NASDAQ:DRTS) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Alpha Tau Medical to “strong sell” from “hold,” contrasting with a broader analyst consensus of “hold” and an average price target of $12.80.
• Shares opened at $14.33, near their 52-week high of $15.10, but the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.50 per share—$0.36 worse than analysts expected.
• Alpha Tau’s CFO sold 2,871 shares for about $43,000 under a pre-arranged trading plan, while insiders sold more than 100,000 shares over the past quarter; institutional ownership remains low at 2.65%.

Alpha Tau Medical (NASDAQ:DRTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Alpha Tau Medical in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Alpha Tau Medical from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Alpha Tau Medical from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Alpha Tau Medical from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alpha Tau Medical in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alpha Tau Medical has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.80.

Alpha Tau Medical Stock Performance

NASDAQ DRTS opened at $14.33 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.78 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 11.09 and a quick ratio of 7.79. Alpha Tau Medical has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $15.10.

Alpha Tau Medical (NASDAQ:DRTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.36). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alpha Tau Medical will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raphi Levy sold 2,871 shares of Alpha Tau Medical stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $43,065.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,700. This trade represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 100,371 shares of company stock valued at $1,210,233 over the last quarter. 39.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alpha Tau Medical

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRTS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alpha Tau Medical in the third quarter worth $62,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Alpha Tau Medical by 2,779.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 21,677 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alpha Tau Medical during the 3rd quarter valued at about $170,000. Mariner LLC increased its position in Alpha Tau Medical by 185.8% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 123,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 80,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Alpha Tau Medical by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares during the period. 2.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alpha Tau Medical

Alpha Tau Medical Ltd. is a medical technology company headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel, focused on developing targeted alpha-radiation therapies for the treatment of solid tumors. The company's core innovation, known as Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy (DaRT), employs short-lived radioactive isotopes to deliver high-energy alpha particles directly within or adjacent to tumor tissues. By harnessing the potent cytotoxic effects of alpha radiation, Alpha Tau Medical aims to offer a novel approach to brachytherapy that can potentially overcome radioresistance and spare surrounding healthy tissue.

The company's lead product, Alpha DaRT, is currently being evaluated in clinical studies for a range of indications including recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancers, skin cancers, and other solid tumors.

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