Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) to "Overweight"

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) from "neutral" to "overweight", joining BTIG's recent upgrade; overall analyst coverage is mixed (3 Buys, 3 Holds, 2 Sells) with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.17.
• Alector opened at $2.41 with a market cap of about $266 million and a 12‑month range of $0.90–$3.40; the company beat the latest quarter's EPS and revenue estimates but remains unprofitable with negative margins and analysts projecting -1.88 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Institutional ownership is 85.83%, and several large investors (Invesco, Mackenzie, XTX, Ikarian, Virtu) significantly increased their stakes in the fourth quarter.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALEC. BTIG Research raised Alector from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Alector from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Alector in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Alector in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alector presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.17.

Alector Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALEC opened at $2.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $265.97 million, a P/E ratio of -1.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Alector has a twelve month low of $0.90 and a twelve month high of $3.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $2.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.93.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 million. Alector had a negative return on equity of 224.96% and a negative net margin of 679.16%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alector will post -1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alector in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alector by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 279,468 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 87,157 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Alector by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 660,168 shares of the company's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 376,456 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Alector by 501.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 592,839 shares of the company's stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 494,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ikarian Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alector by 174.0% in the 4th quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC now owns 2,082,606 shares of the company's stock worth $3,249,000 after buying an additional 1,322,606 shares during the last quarter. 85.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alector Company Profile

Alector is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2013, the company is focused on discovering and developing immuno-neurology therapies that target the innate immune system to treat a range of neurodegenerative disorders. Alector's approach aims to harness the body's natural defense mechanisms to clear pathological proteins and restore neuronal function in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia.

The company's pipeline includes multiple product candidates in both preclinical and clinical stages, with lead programs AL001 and AL002 advancing in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease studies.

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