Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Altimmune from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Altimmune from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.60.

Altimmune Trading Up 9.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ALT opened at $3.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 17.18, a current ratio of 17.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Altimmune has a 52-week low of $2.90 and a 52-week high of $7.73. The stock has a market cap of $437.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.29.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.02). Altimmune had a negative net margin of 214,860.98% and a negative return on equity of 54.03%. The firm had revenue of $0.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.00 million. Equities analysts predict that Altimmune will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jerome Benedict Durso bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.54 per share, with a total value of $70,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 32,500 shares in the company, valued at $115,050. This trade represents a 160.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Gill bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.10 per share, with a total value of $51,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 55,527 shares of company stock worth $213,778 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Altimmune by 356.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,996,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559,562 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Altimmune by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,119,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altimmune by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,373,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,514 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in Altimmune by 514.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,244,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,856 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Altimmune in the 4th quarter worth about $3,331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.05% of the company’s stock.

About Altimmune

Altimmune, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, dedicated to the development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. The company leverages proprietary technology platforms to create intranasal vaccine candidates and novel therapies targeting liver diseases and metabolic disorders. Altimmune’s approach emphasizes the stimulation of both systemic and mucosal immune responses to address unmet medical needs in infectious and chronic conditions.

Among its lead programs, NasoVAX is an investigational intranasal influenza vaccine designed to provide broad, long-lasting protection through a single, non-invasive dose.