Wall Street Zen Downgrades Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Alector (NASDAQ: ALEC) from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, indicating a bearish outlook for the stock.
• Other analysts hold mixed views, with Mizuho upgrading the stock to "outperform" and setting a target price of $3.50, while BTIG maintains a "buy" rating with a $5.00 target.
• Alector reported a quarterly earnings surprise by beating expectations with an EPS of ($0.30) compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.45) and posted revenues significantly above analyst forecasts at $7.87 million.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Alector from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $2.50 to $3.50 in a report on Monday, July 28th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Alector in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.17.

Alector Price Performance

ALEC stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,024,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $2.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.66. Alector has a twelve month low of $0.87 and a twelve month high of $6.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.75 million, a P/E ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 0.99.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $7.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 142.10% and a negative return on equity of 112.06%. Alector has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alector will post -1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alector

In related news, Director Paula Hammond sold 14,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.36, for a total transaction of $33,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 74,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,785.24. This represents a 15.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Alector by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 343,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 5,927 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alector by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,367 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 6,367 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alector by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 151,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Alector by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 38,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sio Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alector by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sio Capital Management LLC now owns 845,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 8,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.83% of the company's stock.

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.

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