Alignment Healthcare Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ALHC)

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 19,456 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 996% compared to the typical volume of 1,775 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALHC has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Alignment Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alignment Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.60.

Alignment Healthcare Trading Down 22.2%

Shares of Alignment Healthcare stock traded down $2.87 on Tuesday, hitting $10.07. 12,889,357 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,604,944. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 52.94 and a beta of 1.11. Alignment Healthcare has a one year low of $9.98 and a one year high of $25.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.04. Alignment Healthcare had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 0.89%.The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 31.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Alignment Healthcare will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alignment Healthcare

In other news, EVP Joseph Konowiecki sold 25,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,103,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,491,584. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Dawn Maroney sold 122,707 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $1,555,924.76. Following the sale, the president directly owned 794,606 shares in the company, valued at $10,075,604.08. The trade was a 13.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,326,577 shares of company stock worth $19,907,564. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Alignment Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,164,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 7,318 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare during the second quarter worth $36,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 128.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 136,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,250,000 after acquiring an additional 76,677 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alignment Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $755,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare, Inc is a technology-enabled healthcare company that provides Medicare Advantage health plans and care-management services for older adults. Through its Alignment Health Plan subsidiary, the company offers insurance coverage designed for Medicare-eligible members, including primary and specialty care coordination, prescription drug benefits, preventive services and access to a network of healthcare providers.

The company combines health-plan operations with proprietary technology intended to support personalized care.