Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Stock Price Up 9.3% – Still a Buy?

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC)’s share price shot up 9.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.20 and last traded at $12.12. 724,954 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 1,128,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ALHC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.33.

Alignment Healthcare Trading Up 7.7 %

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’s 50-day moving average price is $11.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.52 and a beta of 1.45.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14). Alignment Healthcare had a negative net margin of 5.84% and a negative return on equity of 108.69%. The firm had revenue of $692.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $662.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alignment Healthcare, Inc. will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hakan Kardes sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.48, for a total transaction of $287,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 380,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,367,497.12. This represents a 6.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dawn Christine Maroney sold 30,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total transaction of $340,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,696,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,250,700.95. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 515,507 shares of company stock worth $6,158,835 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 31.8% during 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 during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 94.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,104,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,279,000 after buying an additional 1,507,759 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 2,920,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,487,000 after buying an additional 968,637 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,782,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,565,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,245,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.