Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.72, but opened at $11.45. Alignment Healthcare shares last traded at $10.84, with a volume of 45,975 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALHC shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens upgraded Alignment Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.44.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.05 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.28.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.14). Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 5.84% and a negative return on equity of 108.69%. The company had revenue of $692.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $662.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Alignment Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 51.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alignment Healthcare, Inc. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.65, for a total value of $1,048,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,363,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,530,115. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 21,375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.66, for a total transaction of $227,857.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 243,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,955.64. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 653,546 shares of company stock valued at $7,875,008. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alignment Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 20.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 20.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 55,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,595 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

Alignment Healthcare Company Profile

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.