Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $4.62

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.62.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ALEC shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1.50 price objective on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Alector from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Alector from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Alector from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th.

Alector Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALEC opened at $2.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.08 and a 200 day moving average of $2.03. The company has a current ratio of 5.26, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 0.62. Alector has a 12-month low of $1.09 and a 12-month high of $2.76.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 850.13% and a negative return on equity of 531.03%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alector will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 72,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $193,131.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,294,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,103,636. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Neil Berkley sold 29,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $77,807.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 350,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,726.34. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 111,303 shares of company stock worth $295,633 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALEC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alector during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,774,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alector in the 2nd quarter worth $8,679,399. Merck & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Alector in the 2nd quarter worth $7,126,896. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alector in the 2nd quarter worth $5,796,000. Finally, Spruce Street Capital LP purchased a new stake in Alector in the 2nd quarter worth $4,223,147. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

About Alector

Alector, Inc (NASDAQ: ALEC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s research platform, known as immuno-neurology, is designed to use the body’s immune system to protect or restore the brain’s ability to maintain healthy neural connections.

Alector’s investigational pipeline has included antibody-based treatments for conditions such as frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Its programs have targeted biological pathways associated with neurodegeneration, including progranulin and TREM2.