Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Stock Price Up 9.3% – Should You Buy?

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)’s share price rose 9.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.20 and last traded at $12.12. Approximately 724,954 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 1,128,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALHC shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.33.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14). Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 5.84% and a negative return on equity of 108.69%. The company had revenue of $692.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $662.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. Alignment Healthcare’s revenue was up 51.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alignment Healthcare, Inc. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.33, for a total value of $1,019,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,543,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,813,323. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dawn Christine Maroney sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $323,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,726,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,590,064.69. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 508,433 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,028 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALHC. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Alignment Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $131,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Alignment Healthcare in the first quarter worth $57,000. Creative Planning increased its position in Alignment Healthcare by 20.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 18.1% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares in the last quarter. 86.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.