Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Cut to “Neutral” at Mizuho

Mizuho lowered shares of Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $2.50 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $9.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Alector from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lowered shares of Alector from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $1.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Alector from $16.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Alector from $35.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alector presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.75.

Alector Price Performance

ALEC stock opened at $1.78 on Tuesday. Alector has a 52 week low of $1.74 and a 52 week high of $8.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.32 million, a PE ratio of -1.05 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.88 and a 200 day moving average of $4.68.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.10. Alector had a negative net margin of 257.54% and a negative return on equity of 108.77%. The business had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.33 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alector will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 52,172 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $131,473.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,507,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,317,826.48. This represents a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Marc Grasso sold 16,489 shares of Alector stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total value of $41,552.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 330,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,240.52. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,161 shares of company stock valued at $239,806 in the last three months. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Alector by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 68,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Alector by 2.8% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 129,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Alector by 3.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 112,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alector by 7.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 63,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP raised its position in shares of Alector by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 20,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 5,933 shares during the last quarter. 85.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.