Short Interest in Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Drops By 18.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Alector fell by 18.0% in April to 5,151,723 shares (about 5.2% of the stock) and the days-to-cover ratio is roughly 6.3 days based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—three Buys, three Holds and two Sells—resulting in an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $4.17, though firms including Cantor Fitzgerald and BTIG have recently upgraded the stock.

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,151,723 shares, a drop of 18.0% from the March 31st total of 6,284,391 shares. Currently, 5.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 820,725 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Alector in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Alector in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alector from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alector from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Alector from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.17.

Institutional Trading of Alector

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lexington Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Alector by 429.2% in the fourth quarter. Lexington Partners L.P. now owns 53,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 43,380 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Trust Co. lifted its stake in Alector by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Hershey Trust Co. now owns 20,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 10,286 shares during the last quarter. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P acquired a new stake in Alector in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alector in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Alector in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 85.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alector Price Performance

NASDAQ ALEC opened at $2.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.83 million, a PE ratio of -1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.89. Alector has a 12-month low of $0.97 and a 12-month high of $3.40.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 679.16% and a negative return on equity of 224.96%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alector will post -0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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