Altimmune Rated “Moderate Buy” by Eight Brokerages
As of April 13, 2023, Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages currently covering the company, as reported by Bloomberg. Of these eight brokerages, one research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating.
The biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on developing novel peptide-based therapeutics for obesity and liver diseases, released its quarterly earnings results on February 28th. The company surpassed analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter by posting a loss of ($0.43) per share instead. Altimmune also had a negative net margin of 2,618.74% and a negative return on equity of 44.02%. During this quarter, the company earned ($0.11) million in revenue compared to an estimated $0.11 million.
Despite these losses described above though, there is some optimism surrounding the future prospects of Altimmune’s lead product candidate – pemvidutide – which is being developed as a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist to treat obesity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). While Wall Street insiders have yet to determine what may happen next for Altimmune given their EPS predictions for this year sitting at -1.94%, there are indications that the company’s drug candidate could provide hope for those suffering from obesity or liver diseases in the future.
Nevertheless, companies within the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical industry can often be very volatile with serious groundswells taking place over relatively short periods of time so investors should tread carefully – especially with a warning label stemming from ALT showing up nearly everywhere you look! For now though, it seems like investing in ALT might be worth looking into – but with caution as the industry is no stranger to quick swings in fortune that could leave investors reeling if things go against them.
Looking further, the consensus 12 month price objective for ALT shares among the same brokerages covering the firm and who have updated their coverage over the last year adds a bit of ambiguity too – pegging an anticipated value on shares at $26.00 per stock purchase, essentially hovering no more than a few dollars over current levels which come in around $22.00 today.
Overall, Altimmune seems like a compelling company with groundbreaking research dedicated to addressing obesity and liver diseases using peptide-based therapeutics. With its flagship product candidate, pemvidutide, offering hope for those struggling with these ailments, there’s reason for optimism in Altimmune’s future even with insider EPS estimates sitting negative right now!
Mixed Ratings for Altimmune Stocks and Insider Purchasing Activity Provide Insight into Future Performance
Altimmune, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that develops novel peptide-based therapeutics for the treatment of obesity and liver diseases, has recently seen some changes in its stock ratings. Goldman Sachs Group recently downgraded Altimmune shares from a “buy” rating to neutral with a corresponding price target cut from $20.00 to $6.00. Conversely, JMP Securities has reissued their market outperform rating and set a price objective of $15.00 on shares of Altimmune. Evercore ISI has also raised their price target from $14.00 to $25.00 and given the company an “outperform” rating, while HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating with a price objective of $50.00.
The impact of these recent rating changes can be seen in Altimmune’s stock prices as shares opened at just $4.11 on April 13th. The company’s 50-day moving average price is at $9.50 while its 200-day moving average is at $11.25 with a market capitalization of $202.54 million, PE ratio of -2.32, and beta of -0.06 range.
However, the purchasing behavior of some insiders can provide further insight into potential trends related to the performance of Altimmune stocks in the future as it reflects confidence or otherwise in the company’s prospects by those directly involved with it.. For instance, David Drutz bought 9,000 more shares on March 23rd when the cost was averaging around $4-$5 per share; he now owns 29,484 shares after buying at an average rate of about $4 per share.
Altimmune’s other insider Matthew Scott Harris also bought 10,000 more shares on March 23rd at an average cost of about$4 –$5 per share raising his total shares holdings valued up to over USD140 thousand dollars directly.
Institutional investors have also been recently observed taking positions in the company, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., MetLife Investment Management LLC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Vanguard Group Inc., and XTX Topco Ltd. with a combined stake of 93.69% now owned.
Although the ratings given to Altimmune stocks may seem conflicting, it is an opportunity for investors to evaluate the differing opinions and make informed decisions based upon their investment objectives while accounting for individual investment strategies that may influence the stock’s trading volume thus affecting stock prices.