Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,107,318 Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC - Free Report) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,520,908 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,107,318 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.56% of Alector worth $35,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALEC. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alector in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Alector by 349.5% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alector in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alector during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Alector during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $95,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.83% of the company's stock.

Alector Stock Performance

Alector stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $6.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 439,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 703,490. The stock's fifty day moving average is $6.28 and its 200 day moving average is $6.25. Alector, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.66 and a 1-year high of $9.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $596.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 million. Alector had a negative return on equity of 77.15% and a negative net margin of 134.34%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alector, Inc. will post -1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alector news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 18,837 shares of Alector stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $130,352.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,000,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,842,629.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alector news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 18,837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total transaction of $130,352.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,000,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,842,629.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary Romano sold 6,001 shares of Alector stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $41,526.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 196,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,358,485.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,554 shares of company stock valued at $211,434. Insiders own 14.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ALEC shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Alector from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $8.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, December 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alector in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Alector Company Profile

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.