Short Interest in Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) Expands By 19.0%

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,690,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the March 31st total of 3,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 901,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALHC. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stephens increased their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.18.

Alignment Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of Alignment Healthcare stock opened at $5.21 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $984.59 million, a PE ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.22 and a 200 day moving average of $6.59. Alignment Healthcare has a 52 week low of $4.46 and a 52 week high of $9.20.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $465.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.56 million. Alignment Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 75.64% and a negative net margin of 8.12%. Alignment Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.31) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 11,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.89, for a total value of $57,985.62. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 898,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,392,334.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Dawn Christine Maroney sold 15,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,098.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,999,500 shares in the company, valued at $10,097,475. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 11,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.89, for a total transaction of $57,985.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 898,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,392,334.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,213 shares of company stock worth $460,587. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 1.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 227,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

Alignment Healthcare Company Profile

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.