Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.75.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ALEC shares. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on shares of Alector from $35.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho cut Alector from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $9.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley cut Alector from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $3.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Alector from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 16th.

Alector Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALEC opened at $1.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.62. Alector has a twelve month low of $1.73 and a twelve month high of $8.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.18 million, a P/E ratio of -1.09 and a beta of 0.51.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.33 million. Alector had a negative return on equity of 108.77% and a negative net margin of 257.54%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alector will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sara Kenkare-Mitra sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total value of $66,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 565,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,341.80. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 52,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 2,507,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,317,826.48. This represents a 2.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,161 shares of company stock valued at $239,806. Insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alector

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Alector during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Alector during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Alector in the third quarter worth $51,000. Valence8 US LP purchased a new stake in Alector in the third quarter worth $69,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alector by 65.3% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 7,395 shares in the last quarter. 85.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alector

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.