Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC)

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 target price on the stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 45.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ALHC. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp started coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.44.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

Alignment Healthcare stock opened at $11.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.93 and its 200 day moving average is $10.39. Alignment Healthcare has a 1-year low of $4.46 and a 1-year high of $14.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.19 and a beta of 1.42.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.14). The company had revenue of $692.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $662.11 million. Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 5.84% and a negative return on equity of 108.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 51.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, Director Joseph S. Konowiecki sold 6,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.73, for a total transaction of $95,011.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,134,888 shares in the company, valued at $15,582,012.24. This represents a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dawn Christine Maroney sold 30,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,726,097 shares in the company, valued at $18,590,064.69. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 631,504 shares of company stock worth $7,639,287 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 121,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 55,771 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 132.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 128,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 73,402 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 144.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 193,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 114,191 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its position in Alignment Healthcare by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 10,901,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 382,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 82,559 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

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.