Brokerages Set Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Target Price at $3.62

Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.6250.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alector from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th.

Alector Stock Performance

Alector stock opened at $2.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 5.26, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Alector has a 1 year low of $1.09 and a 1 year high of $3.40. The company has a market cap of $253.47 million, a PE ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.07.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 850.13% and a negative return on equity of 531.03%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alector will post -0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 72,606 shares of Alector stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total transaction of $193,131.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,294,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,103,636. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Neil Berkley sold 29,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total value of $77,807.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 350,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,726.34. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 111,303 shares of company stock worth $295,633. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alector during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Hershey Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Alector by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Hershey Trust Co. now owns 20,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 10,286 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alector in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Alector during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Alector during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

Alector Company Profile

Alector is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2013, the company is focused on discovering and developing immuno-neurology therapies that target the innate immune system to treat a range of neurodegenerative disorders. Alector’s approach aims to harness the body’s natural defense mechanisms to clear pathological proteins and restore neuronal function in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.

The company’s pipeline includes multiple product candidates in both preclinical and clinical stages, with lead programs AL001 and AL002 advancing in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease studies.