Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) Trading Up 7.4% – Time to Buy?

Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATEC)’s stock price shot up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.18 and last traded at $8.2290. 1,988,757 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 3,373,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATEC. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Alphatec from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Alphatec from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Alphatec from $25.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Alphatec from $20.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Alphatec from $28.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.58.

Alphatec Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.35, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.05 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.59 and a 200-day moving average of $15.38.

Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical technology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.21). Alphatec had a negative return on equity of 1,183.84% and a negative net margin of 15.93%.The business had revenue of $192.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.35) earnings per share. Alphatec’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphatec Holdings, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Scott Lish sold 260,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $3,204,580.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 815,704 shares in the company, valued at $10,033,159.20. The trade was a 24.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Tyson Eliot Marshall sold 88,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.49, for a total value of $1,109,549.15. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 559,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,987,642.91. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 629,189 shares of company stock valued at $7,801,589 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alphatec

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATEC. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Alphatec by 292.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,225,927 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $46,834,000 after buying an additional 1,658,349 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphatec in the 4th quarter worth about $27,051,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Alphatec by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,340,936 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $91,333,000 after purchasing an additional 784,191 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Alphatec by 608.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 900,491 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $13,093,000 after purchasing an additional 773,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphatec in the 4th quarter worth about $14,055,000. 66.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alphatec

Alphatec Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: ATEC) is a medical technology company focused on the design, development and commercialization of products for the surgical correction of degenerative spinal conditions. The company’s portfolio centers on interbody implants, biologics, fixation devices and surgical planning tools intended to improve patient outcomes in spinal fusion procedures. Alphatec’s flagship offerings include customizable interbody cages, bone graft materials and specialized instrumentation designed for minimally invasive and open spinal surgeries.

Founded as Alphatec Spine in 1985 and rebranded as Alphatec Holdings in 2018, the company has grown from a single-product organization into a multi-platform innovator in the spine market.