Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Saturday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $18.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alignment Healthcare traded as high as $15.85 and last traded at $15.69, with a volume of 4768834 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.65, for a total value of $1,048,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,363,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,530,115. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hyong Kim sold 62,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.20, for a total value of $763,402.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 470,496 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,051.20. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 441,002 shares of company stock valued at $5,772,726 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 149.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 85,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 51,084 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Alignment Healthcare by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 263,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,961,000 after purchasing an additional 36,151 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Alignment Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $189,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 414.6% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 198,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 159,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $258,000. 86.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Up 16.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 1.50.

About Alignment Healthcare

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.