Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Shares Down 3% – Time to Sell?

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) shares fell 3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $1.28 and last traded at $1.29. 385,388 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 775,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALEC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut Alector from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $1.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Alector in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho lowered Alector from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Alector from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $1.50 price objective (down previously from $3.00) on shares of Alector in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.50.

Alector Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $127.82 million, a P/E ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1.59 and a 200 day moving average of $2.97.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $0.59. Alector had a negative return on equity of 108.77% and a negative net margin of 257.54%. The firm had revenue of $54.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.41 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alector, Inc. will post -1.88 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALEC. RA Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Alector in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,324,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Alector by 64.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,728,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,298 shares during the period. 5AM Venture Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alector in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,882,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alector by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 915,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 353,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alector in the 4th quarter worth approximately $538,000. 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.