Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $18.00. The stock had previously closed at $13.47, but opened at $15.06. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alignment Healthcare shares last traded at $14.66, with a volume of 283,407 shares changing hands.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ALHC. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.65, for a total transaction of $1,048,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,363,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,530,115. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hakan Kardes sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.99, for a total value of $157,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 309,944 shares in the company, valued at $4,646,060.56. This trade represents a 3.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 441,002 shares of company stock worth $5,772,726. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Alignment Healthcare by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 2,937 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 61,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 119,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 86.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 1.50.

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.