Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) Cut to "Underweight" at Morgan Stanley

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $3.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $10.00. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 16.73% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ALEC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alector in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Alector in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Alector Price Performance

Shares of ALEC traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,120,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,706. Alector has a 12-month low of $2.37 and a 12-month high of $8.90. The stock has a market cap of $251.68 million, a PE ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $4.88 and its 200 day moving average is $5.06.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.10. Alector had a negative net margin of 257.54% and a negative return on equity of 108.77%. The business had revenue of $15.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.33 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alector will post -1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Marc Grasso sold 7,297 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total value of $35,609.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 130,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $638,011.20. This trade represents a 5.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arnon Rosenthal sold 26,499 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.88, for a total value of $129,315.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,948,746 shares in the company, valued at $9,509,880.48. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,722 shares of company stock valued at $232,883 over the last three months. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alector

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALEC. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Alector by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 176,800 shares of the company's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 100,731 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alector by 8.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,874,000 after acquiring an additional 148,357 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alector by 24.2% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 30,180 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Alector in the 3rd quarter valued at about $639,000. Finally, Sphera Funds Management LTD. raised its stake in Alector by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. now owns 620,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.