Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC)

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 7,845 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 187% compared to the average daily volume of 2,730 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alignment Healthcare

In related news, President Dawn Christine Maroney sold 30,000 shares of Alignment Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.99, for a total transaction of $479,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,417,700 shares in the company, valued at $38,659,023. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John E. Kao sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.06, for a total value of $1,175,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,273,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,686,686. This trade represents a 3.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,829,454 shares of company stock worth $27,936,991. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alignment Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Alignment Healthcare by 149.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 85,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 51,084 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 263,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,961,000 after purchasing an additional 36,151 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alignment Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Alignment Healthcare by 414.6% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 198,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 159,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Alignment Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.19% of the company’s stock.

Alignment Healthcare Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of ALHC traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.75. 1,658,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,039. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.51. Alignment Healthcare has a 12-month low of $4.46 and a 12-month high of $16.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.77 and a beta of 1.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ALHC. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alignment Healthcare from $14.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alignment Healthcare from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Alignment Healthcare in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Alignment Healthcare from $15.50 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alignment Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.83.

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.