Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Shares Up 4.8% – What’s Next?

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) shares rose 4.8% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1.53 and last traded at $1.52. Approximately 1,576,232 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 1,544,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ALEC shares. William Blair cut Alector from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho set a $1.50 target price on Alector and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Alector from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alector from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Alector to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alector presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.25.

Alector Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.94. The company has a market cap of $170.27 million, a P/E ratio of -1.46 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 3.76.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.08. Alector had a negative return on equity of 123.02% and a negative net margin of 156.03%.The business had revenue of $3.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.49 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alector, Inc. will post -1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Neil Lindsay Berkley sold 37,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total value of $41,732.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 374,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,226.08. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 104,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total value of $116,868.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,420,040 shares in the company, valued at $2,710,444.80. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 196,104 shares of company stock valued at $220,064. 9.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alector

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alector by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,034,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,863,000 after purchasing an additional 46,955 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alector by 50.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,170,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 729,727 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alector by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,982,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 19,970 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Alector by 25.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,334,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 274,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alector by 181.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,155,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,419,000 after purchasing an additional 744,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

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.