Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.56, but opened at $22.54. Alignment Healthcare shares last traded at $22.07, with a volume of 455,737 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALHC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.67.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.22 and a 200-day moving average of $19.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of -2,186.91, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.10. Alignment Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 0.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 44.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alignment Healthcare, Inc. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alignment Healthcare

In other Alignment Healthcare news, CFO James M. Head sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total value of $233,988.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,657,274.60. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Andreas P. Wagner sold 11,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.22, for a total value of $211,388.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 148,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,708,002.16. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,474,097 shares of company stock worth $28,679,550. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 102,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 47,472 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,499,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,581,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,814,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,129,000. 86.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare, Inc (NASDAQ: ALHC) is a health care company specializing in value-based care for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. The company leverages an integrated care model that combines in-home clinical services, telehealth capabilities and digital health tools to manage chronic conditions, improve outcomes and enhance patient experience.

At the core of Alignment Healthcare’s approach is a proprietary technology platform that aggregates real-time clinical and claims data to support preventive care, risk stratification and personalized care plans.