Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Stephens raised their price target on the stock from $6.00 to $7.00. The stock had previously closed at $5.26, but opened at $5.72. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Alignment Healthcare shares last traded at $6.48, with a volume of 813,518 shares changing hands.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ALHC. Barclays assumed coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $12.00) on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alignment Healthcare

In other Alignment Healthcare news, CEO John E. Kao purchased 103,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.82 per share, for a total transaction of $496,460.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,745,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,232,119.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 11,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.89, for a total transaction of $57,985.62. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 898,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,392,334.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John E. Kao acquired 103,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.82 per share, for a total transaction of $496,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,745,253 shares in the company, valued at $13,232,119.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 90,213 shares of company stock valued at $460,587 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 345,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,400,000 after buying an additional 49,716 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $641,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 8,577 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,770,000 after buying an additional 46,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.40 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.55.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $628.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.75 million. Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 8.12% and a negative return on equity of 75.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Alignment Healthcare, Inc. will post -0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Alignment Healthcare

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.