Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Alector from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research reduced their price target on Alector from $16.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Alector in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alector

In other Alector news, insider Sara Kenkare-Mitra sold 13,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total transaction of $67,958.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 291,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,569.20. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marc Grasso sold 7,297 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total transaction of $35,609.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 130,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,011.20. This trade represents a 5.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,722 shares of company stock valued at $232,883. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALEC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alector by 9.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 78,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 7,066 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alector by 24.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alector by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,912,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,574,000 after purchasing an additional 526,037 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. increased its position in Alector by 13.0% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 35,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alector during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. 85.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alector Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALEC traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $2.59. 5,832,614 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,064. Alector has a 1-year low of $2.37 and a 1-year high of $8.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.66.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.10. Alector had a negative return on equity of 108.77% and a negative net margin of 257.54%. The firm had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.33 million. On average, research analysts expect that Alector will post -1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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.