Altimmune Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ALT)

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 18,846 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 185% compared to the average volume of 6,618 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ALT shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Altimmune in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Altimmune to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Altimmune Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALT opened at $9.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $676.59 million, a PE ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.89. Altimmune has a 12-month low of $2.34 and a 12-month high of $14.84.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.03. Altimmune had a negative net margin of 199,076.92% and a negative return on equity of 52.60%. The firm had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altimmune will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Altimmune

In related news, Director David Drutz sold 16,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.90, for a total value of $110,475.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,510.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altimmune

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Altimmune in the first quarter worth approximately $271,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Altimmune by 154.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 32,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 19,661 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altimmune by 68.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 16,078 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Altimmune during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,079,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Altimmune during the 1st quarter worth $479,000. 78.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altimmune Company Profile

Altimmune, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing treatments for obesity and liver diseases. The company's lead product candidate, pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist that is in Phase 2 trial for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.