Traders Buy Large Volume of Altimmune Call Options (NASDAQ:ALT)

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 25,356 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 199% compared to the typical volume of 8,475 call options.

Insider Transactions at Altimmune

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altimmune

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALT. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Altimmune by 119.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 40,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 22,188 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altimmune during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altimmune by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altimmune during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altimmune by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 18,113 shares during the last quarter. 78.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ALT shares. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.83.

Altimmune Stock Up 13.8 %

Shares of ALT stock opened at $5.92 on Friday. Altimmune has a 52 week low of $5.14 and a 52 week high of $11.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.92 million, a PE ratio of -3.82 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.11.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) last released 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 business had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.00 million. Altimmune had a negative net margin of 199,076.92% and a negative return on equity of 55.81%. Analysts expect that Altimmune will post -1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.