Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Rating Lowered to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $3.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $10.00.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ALEC. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Alector in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.40.

Alector Stock Performance

ALEC opened at $2.59 on Tuesday. Alector has a 1 year low of $2.37 and a 1 year high of $8.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.64 million, a PE ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.66.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.34 million for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alector will post -1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alector

In other Alector news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 26,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total transaction of $129,315.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,948,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,509,880.48. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marc Grasso sold 7,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total transaction of $35,609.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 130,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,011.20. This represents a 5.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,722 shares of company stock valued at $232,883 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alector

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Alector in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alector during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Alector during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alector in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Alector in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

Alector Company Profile

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.