Stifel Financial Corp Sells 34,715 Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) by 16.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 179,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,715 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.18% of Alector worth $836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALEC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Alector by 21.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 49,625 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alector by 61.7% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 355,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 135,614 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Alector by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 109,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 18,398 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alector by 21.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 156,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 27,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Alector by 7.5% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 63,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

Alector Stock Performance

ALEC opened at $1.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.64. Alector, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.73 and a 52-week high of $8.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.18 million, a PE ratio of -1.09 and a beta of 0.51.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.33 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 257.54% and a negative return on equity of 108.77%. Research analysts forecast that Alector, Inc. will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alector

In other news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 52,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $131,473.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,507,074 shares in the company, valued at $6,317,826.48. This represents a 2.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marc Grasso sold 16,489 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $41,552.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 330,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 in the last quarter. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALEC. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Alector from $16.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Alector from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho downgraded Alector from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Alector from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $10.00 to $3.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alector currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.75.

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.