Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 11,958 Alignment Healthcare call options, roughly 1,029% above the average volume of 1,059 calls.
• Stock under pressure: ALHC fell to $12.91, near its 52-week low of $12.90, despite reporting quarterly revenue of $1.34 billion and EPS of $0.17, both above analyst expectations.
• Mixed outlook: Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $23.60 average price target, while insiders sold more than 1 million shares worth $18.6 million over the past 90 days.

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 11,958 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,029% compared to the average volume of 1,059 call options.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

NASDAQ ALHC traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.91. The stock had a trading volume of 948,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,568,506. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.11 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.00. Alignment Healthcare has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $25.12.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. Alignment Healthcare had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 31.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Alignment Healthcare will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALHC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alignment Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.60.

Insider Activity at Alignment Healthcare

In other Alignment Healthcare news, CEO John E. Kao sold 298,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.88, for a total transaction of $4,136,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,975,832.08. The trade was a 27.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Hyong Kim sold 35,951 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.86, for a total value of $713,986.86. Following the transaction, the insider owned 331,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,588,555. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,009,951 shares of company stock worth $18,597,287 in the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 463.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Alignment Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 86.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alignment Healthcare Company Profile

Alignment Healthcare, Inc NASDAQ: ALHC is a health care company specializing in value-based care for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. The company leverages an integrated care model that combines in-home clinical services, telehealth capabilities and digital health tools to manage chronic conditions, improve outcomes and enhance patient experience.

At the core of Alignment Healthcare's approach is a proprietary technology platform that aggregates real-time clinical and claims data to support preventive care, risk stratification and personalized care plans.

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