Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Stock

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 15.11% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ALHC. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.88.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALHC opened at $13.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.66. Alignment Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $4.46 and a fifty-two week high of $14.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.05 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.14). The company had revenue of $692.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $662.11 million. Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 5.84% and a negative return on equity of 108.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 51.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.06, for a total value of $1,175,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,273,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,686,686. The trade was a 3.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $53,840.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 159,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,917,108.26. The trade was a 2.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 509,224 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,990. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Alignment Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 20.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 19,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $315,000. Institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

Alignment Healthcare Company Profile

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.