Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Stock Short Interest Report for October

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,254,239 shares, an increase of 66.8% from the September 30th total of 6,147,032 shares. Currently, 10.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,952,676 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Alector Trading Down 4.7%

Alector stock opened at $2.05 on Wednesday. Alector has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $2.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 5.26 and a quick ratio of 5.26.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.02. Alector had a negative return on equity of 531.03% and a negative net margin of 850.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 million. As a group, analysts expect that Alector will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALEC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1.50 price objective on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alector from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Alector from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Alector from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alector currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Neil Berkley sold 29,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total value of $77,807.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 350,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,726.34. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 72,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.66, for a total value of $193,131.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,294,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,103,636. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 111,303 shares of company stock valued at $295,633 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALEC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alector during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,774,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alector in the second quarter worth approximately $8,679,399. Merck & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Alector in the second quarter worth approximately $7,126,896. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alector in the second quarter worth approximately $5,796,000. Finally, Spruce Street Capital LP bought a new stake in Alector in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,223,147. Institutional investors own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

Alector Company Profile

Alector, Inc (NASDAQ: ALEC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s research platform, known as immuno-neurology, is designed to use the body’s immune system to protect or restore the brain’s ability to maintain healthy neural connections.

Alector’s investigational pipeline has included antibody-based treatments for conditions such as frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Its programs have targeted biological pathways associated with neurodegeneration, including progranulin and TREM2.