Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Mizuho

Mizuho cut shares of Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $2.50 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $9.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Alector from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $1.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Alector from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $3.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on Alector from $35.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Alector from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alector presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.75.

Alector Price Performance

Shares of ALEC stock opened at $1.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.09 million, a PE ratio of -1.11 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.74. Alector has a one year low of $1.85 and a one year high of $8.90.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last issued its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations 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, research analysts expect that Alector will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Marc Grasso sold 16,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $41,552.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 330,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,240.52. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 52,172 shares of Alector stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $131,473.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,507,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,317,826.48. This represents a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,161 shares of company stock worth $239,806 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alector

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alector during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Alector in the third quarter worth $40,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alector in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Valence8 US LP purchased a new position in shares of Alector in the third quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alector by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 7,395 shares in the last quarter. 85.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alector

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.