Short Interest in Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) Rises By 19.0%

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,690,000 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the March 31st total of 3,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 901,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays began coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. Stephens boosted their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.18.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of ALHC traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.21. The stock had a trading volume of 497,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,151. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alignment Healthcare has a 52 week low of $4.46 and a 52 week high of $9.20.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.03). Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 8.12% and a negative return on equity of 75.64%. The firm had revenue of $465.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dawn Christine Maroney sold 15,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $80,098.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,999,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,097,475. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 11,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.89, for a total value of $57,985.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 898,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,392,334.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dawn Christine Maroney sold 15,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,098.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,999,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,097,475. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,213 shares of company stock valued at $460,587. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alignment Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALHC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 75.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 11,370 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 38.1% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 8,577 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 24.2% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 85,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 16,700 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 35.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 348,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after buying an additional 91,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 16.8% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 345,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,400,000 after buying an additional 49,716 shares in the last quarter. 86.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alignment Healthcare Company Profile

Alignment Healthcare, Inc, a tech-enabled Medicare advantage company, operates consumer-centric health care platform for seniors in the United States. It provides customized health care designed to meet the needs of a diverse array of seniors through its Medicare advantage plans. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Orange, California.