Short Interest in Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) Decreases By 15.8%

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,350,000 shares, a drop of 15.8% from the November 30th total of 11,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 10.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

ALHC opened at $11.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.49 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.31. Alignment Healthcare has a 1-year low of $4.46 and a 1-year high of $14.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

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

Insider Activity at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.33, for a total value of $1,019,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,543,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,813,323. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Sebastian Burzacchi sold 8,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.26, for a total transaction of $96,273.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 217,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,867.70. This trade represents a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 631,504 shares of company stock valued at $7,639,287 over the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 121,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 55,771 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 132.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 128,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 73,402 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 144.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 193,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,287,000 after buying an additional 114,191 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 31.8% during the second 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 buying an additional 2,630,788 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Alignment Healthcare by 27.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 382,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 82,559 shares during the period. 86.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.