Bank of America Downgrades Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) to Underperform

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $1.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $9.00. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential downside of 54.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Alector from $16.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Alector from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $10.00 to $3.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Alector from $35.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.17.

Alector Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ALEC opened at $2.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.90. The firm has a market cap of $215.45 million, a PE ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 0.51. Alector has a 1-year low of $2.00 and a 1-year high of $8.90.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.33 million. Alector had a negative return on equity of 108.77% and a negative net margin of 257.54%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alector will post -1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alector

In other news, insider Sara Kenkare-Mitra sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total value of $66,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 565,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,341.80. This represents a 4.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marc Grasso sold 16,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $41,552.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 330,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,240.52. The trade was a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,161 shares of company stock valued at $239,806 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Alector by 4.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 68,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its stake in Alector by 2.8% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 129,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Alector by 3.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 112,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alector by 7.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 63,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 4,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in Alector by 41.3% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 20,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 5,933 shares in the last quarter. 85.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alector Company Profile

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.