Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,330,000 shares, a growth of 28.5% from the June 30th total of 3,370,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 984,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 38,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $388,968.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 414,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,434.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Thomas Freeman sold 38,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $388,968.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 414,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,434.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Joyce sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.01, for a total value of $128,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 422,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,387,525.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 225,221 shares of company stock worth $2,142,155. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALHC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,121,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,303,000 after buying an additional 322,661 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Alignment Healthcare by 123.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 36,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 20,030 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 31,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alignment Healthcare by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alignment Healthcare by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 751,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,123 shares in the last quarter. 86.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Alignment Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Alignment Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens lifted their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Alignment Healthcare from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.44.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of Alignment Healthcare stock opened at $8.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -10.19 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.72. Alignment Healthcare has a one year low of $4.46 and a one year high of $10.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.01). Alignment Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 91.06% and a negative net margin of 7.81%. The firm had revenue of $628.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 43.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Alignment Healthcare will post -0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Alignment Healthcare

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.