Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.31, but opened at $7.54. Altimmune shares last traded at $7.42, with a volume of 484,517 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Altimmune in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Altimmune in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Altimmune in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altimmune has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.71.

Altimmune Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.07 and a 200-day moving average of $7.20. The company has a market capitalization of $536.28 million, a P/E ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 0.22.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by $0.03. Altimmune had a negative net margin of 199,076.92% and a negative return on equity of 55.81%. The business had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altimmune, Inc. will post -1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altimmune

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altimmune by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 23,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Altimmune by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Altimmune by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altimmune during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Altimmune by 34.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081 shares during the last quarter. 78.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Altimmune

Altimmune, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing treatments for obesity and liver diseases. The company's lead product candidate, pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist that is in Phase 2 trial for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.