Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1.50 target price on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Alector from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Alector from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Alector from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.62.

Alector Stock Up 9.6%

ALEC opened at $2.29 on Friday. Alector has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $2.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.06 and a 200 day moving average of $2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 5.26, a current ratio of 5.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $1.34. Alector had a negative return on equity of 531.03% and a negative net margin of 850.13%. The firm had revenue of $162.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 million. Equities analysts expect that Alector will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alector

In related news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 72,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $193,131.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,294,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,103,636. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Neil Berkley sold 29,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $77,807.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 350,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,726.34. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 111,303 shares of company stock valued at $295,633 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alector

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALEC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alector in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,774,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alector during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,679,399. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alector during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,126,896. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alector in the second quarter worth $5,796,000. Finally, Spruce Street Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Alector in the 2nd quarter worth $4,223,147. Institutional investors own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

About Alector

Alector, Inc (NASDAQ: ALEC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s research platform, known as immuno-neurology, is designed to use the body’s immune system to protect or restore the brain’s ability to maintain healthy neural connections.

Alector’s investigational pipeline has included antibody-based treatments for conditions such as frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Its programs have targeted biological pathways associated with neurodegeneration, including progranulin and TREM2.