Traders Purchase Large Volume of Alector Call Options (NASDAQ:ALEC)

Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 3,578 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 790% compared to the average volume of 402 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Neil Lindsay Berkley sold 37,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total transaction of $41,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 374,309 shares in the company, valued at $419,226.08. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 104,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total transaction of $116,868.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,420,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,710,444.80. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 196,104 shares of company stock worth $220,064. Corporate insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alector

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lexington Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Alector during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pinegrove Venture Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alector during the third quarter worth $30,000. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. bought a new stake in Alector during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Alector in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Belvedere Trading LLC bought a new stake in Alector in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 85.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alector Stock Up 9.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ALEC opened at $2.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1.81 and its 200 day moving average is $2.03. Alector has a 12-month low of $0.87 and a 12-month high of $3.40. The stock has a market cap of $260.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.05. Alector had a negative return on equity of 123.02% and a negative net margin of 156.03%.The business had revenue of $6.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alector will post -1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alector from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Alector in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Alector from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Alector in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alector currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.25.

About Alector

Alector is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2013, the company is focused on discovering and developing immuno-neurology therapies that target the innate immune system to treat a range of neurodegenerative disorders. Alector’s approach aims to harness the body’s natural defense mechanisms to clear pathological proteins and restore neuronal function in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.

The company’s pipeline includes multiple product candidates in both preclinical and clinical stages, with lead programs AL001 and AL002 advancing in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease studies.