Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Downgraded to “Underweight” Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $3.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $10.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ALEC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Alector in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alector presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Alector Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ ALEC opened at $2.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $249.24 million, a PE ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 0.66. Alector has a 12 month low of $2.37 and a 12 month high of $8.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.68 and a 200-day moving average of $5.00.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.33 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 257.54% and a negative return on equity of 108.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alector will post -1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alector

In other news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 26,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total value of $129,315.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,948,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,509,880.48. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Marc Grasso sold 7,297 shares of Alector stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total value of $35,609.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 130,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,011.20. The trade was a 5.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,722 shares of company stock valued at $232,883 in the last three months. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alector

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alector by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,912,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,574,000 after purchasing an additional 526,037 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alector by 18.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,017,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after buying an additional 159,111 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alector by 8.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,874,000 after buying an additional 148,357 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alector by 32.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 590,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after buying an additional 146,015 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Alector by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,595,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,013,000 after buying an additional 137,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.83% of the company’s stock.

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.