Short Interest in Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) Expands By 6.0%

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,750,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the August 31st total of 4,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Alignment Healthcare Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Alignment Healthcare stock opened at $11.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Alignment Healthcare has a 12-month low of $4.46 and a 12-month high of $12.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.71.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.01. Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 6.85% and a negative return on equity of 101.10%. The business had revenue of $681.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $637.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.15) EPS. Alignment Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.67 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALHC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (up previously from $8.00) on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $4.50 to $7.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alignment Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alignment Healthcare

In other Alignment Healthcare news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 38,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $388,968.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 414,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,434.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Alignment Healthcare news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 38,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $388,968.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 414,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,434.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph S. Konowiecki sold 22,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $202,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,233,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,172,982.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 267,973 shares of company stock valued at $2,671,391 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALHC. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the first quarter worth $57,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the first quarter worth $57,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 110.0% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 36,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 19,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 20.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 55,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare, Inc, a tech-enabled Medicare advantage company, operates consumer-centric health care platform for seniors in the United States. It provides customized health care designed to meet the needs of a diverse array of seniors through its Medicare advantage plans. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Orange, California.