Altimmune Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:ALT)

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 25,356 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 199% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,475 call options.

Altimmune Trading Up 14.7 %

Altimmune stock traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.97. 8,041,208 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,468,538. Altimmune has a fifty-two week low of $5.14 and a fifty-two week high of $11.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.12.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.00 million. Altimmune had a negative net margin of 199,076.92% and a negative return on equity of 55.81%. Equities analysts anticipate that Altimmune will post -1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gregory L. Weaver purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.20 per share, with a total value of $52,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altimmune

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Altimmune by 119.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 40,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 22,188 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altimmune during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Altimmune by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Altimmune during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altimmune by 65.1% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 18,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ALT. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. William Blair began coverage on shares of Altimmune in a report on Friday, February 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Altimmune in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altimmune has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

Altimmune Company Profile

Altimmune, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing treatments for obesity and liver diseases. The company's lead product candidate, pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist that is in Phase 2 trial for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.