Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Short Interest Up 10.6% in March

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,470,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 5,850,000 shares. Currently, 8.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 690,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Marc Grasso sold 5,716 shares of Alector stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total transaction of $39,554.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 144,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,003,102.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Marc Grasso sold 5,716 shares of Alector stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $39,554.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 144,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,003,102.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 18,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $130,352.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,000,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,842,629.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,554 shares of company stock valued at $211,434. Insiders own 14.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALEC. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in Alector in the first quarter worth $1,106,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Alector by 1.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 206,696 shares of the company's stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Alector by 84.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 140,887 shares of the company's stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 64,589 shares during the period. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alector in the first quarter worth $404,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Alector by 54.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,825 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 11,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Alector in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Alector Trading Down 6.3 %

ALEC stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $5.64. The company had a trading volume of 375,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,661. Alector has a 52 week low of $3.66 and a 52 week high of $9.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $6.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.23. The stock has a market cap of $540.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.64 and a beta of 0.79.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by $0.31. Alector had a negative return on equity of 77.15% and a negative net margin of 134.34%. The firm had revenue of $15.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 million. Analysts predict that Alector will post -1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Alector

Alector, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies for the treatment of neurodegeneration diseases. Its products include AL001, an immune activity in the brain with genetic links to multiple neurodegenerative disorders, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diseases; and AL101 that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.