Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC)

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 11,958 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,029% compared to the typical volume of 1,059 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Alignment Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Alignment Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, insider Hyong Kim sold 35,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.86, for a total value of $713,986.86. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 331,750 shares in the company, valued at $6,588,555. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Dawn Christine Maroney sold 30,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $586,500.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 947,313 shares in the company, valued at $18,519,969.15. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,009,951 shares of company stock valued at $18,597,287. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Alignment Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $184,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 167.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,089,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,516,000 after acquiring an additional 6,940,277 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,794,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the second quarter worth approximately $87,077,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 122.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,170,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,387,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALHC traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.91. The company had a trading volume of 948,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,568,506. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.11 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.27 and its 200 day moving average is $19.00. Alignment Healthcare has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $25.12.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. Alignment Healthcare had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 0.89%.The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. Alignment Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alignment Healthcare will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alignment Healthcare Company Profile

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.