Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 473,794 Shares of Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC)

Verition Fund Management LLC decreased its stake in Alector, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALEC - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,369 shares of the company's stock after selling 473,794 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.07% of Alector worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ALEC. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in Alector by 73.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 92,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 38,947 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Alector by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 6,723 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alector in the 3rd quarter valued at $90,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Alector by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 590,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 146,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Alector by 61.7% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 355,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 135,614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alector

In other news, CFO Marc Grasso sold 16,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $41,552.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 330,651 shares in the company, valued at $833,240.52. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sara Kenkare-Mitra sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.52, for a total transaction of $66,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 565,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,341.80. The trade was a 4.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,161 shares of company stock valued at $239,806. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Alector Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of ALEC traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,297,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,679. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.77. The company has a market capitalization of $192.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.16 and a beta of 0.51. Alector, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.92 and a 12-month high of $8.90.

Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.33 million. Alector had a negative net margin of 257.54% and a negative return on equity of 108.77%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alector, Inc. will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ALEC. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Alector from $35.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Alector from $16.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Alector from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $9.00 to $1.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Alector from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $10.00 to $3.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alector in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Alector Profile

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.