Short Interest in Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) Decreases By 35.8%

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,500,000 shares, a decrease of 35.8% from the May 31st total of 8,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 623,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.8 days. Approximately 7.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Alector Price Performance

Shares of ALEC opened at $4.54 on Friday. Alector has a 52-week low of $3.66 and a 52-week high of $9.06. The stock has a market cap of $437.61 million, a PE ratio of -3.29 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.05.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.10. Alector had a negative net margin of 125.11% and a negative return on equity of 71.80%. The firm had revenue of $15.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.63 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alector will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ALEC. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Alector in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alector has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alector news, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 25,135 shares of Alector stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.80, for a total transaction of $120,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,975,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,481,176. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Marc Grasso sold 6,920 shares of Alector stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.80, for a total transaction of $33,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,037 shares in the company, valued at $662,577.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 25,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.80, for a total value of $120,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,975,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,481,176. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,095 shares of company stock worth $192,456. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alector by 16.2% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 922,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,555,000 after purchasing an additional 128,515 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alector in the 1st quarter worth $59,000. American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alector by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 35,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 4,105 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alector by 211.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 444,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 301,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alector by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,912,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,574,000 after purchasing an additional 526,037 shares during the period. 85.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.