Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPN) Short Interest Down 5.9% in March

Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPN) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the March 15th total of 5,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Alpine Immune Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALPN opened at $64.46 on Thursday. Alpine Immune Sciences has a 52-week low of $6.71 and a 52-week high of $64.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.15.

Alpine Immune Sciences (NASDAQ:ALPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 18th. The biotechnology company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $30.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.90 million. Alpine Immune Sciences had a negative net margin of 54.66% and a negative return on equity of 15.54%. On average, analysts predict that Alpine Immune Sciences will post -1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALPN. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Alpine Immune Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Alpine Immune Sciences in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of Alpine Immune Sciences in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. SVB Leerink downgraded shares of Alpine Immune Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Alpine Immune Sciences in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alpine Immune Sciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALPN. Decheng Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alpine Immune Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $135,007,000. Decheng Capital Management III Cayman LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alpine Immune Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $76,810,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alpine Immune Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $23,260,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alpine Immune Sciences by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,234,767 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,595,000 after acquiring an additional 759,888 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alpine Immune Sciences by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,281,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,456,000 after acquiring an additional 728,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.17% of the company’s stock.

Alpine Immune Sciences Company Profile

Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. It focuses on the discovery and development of immunotherapies through protein engineering technologies for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company's product pipeline includes Povetacicept, a dual B cell cytokine antagonist, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; and Acazicolcept, a dual inhibitor of the CD28 and ICOS T cell costimulatory pathways that is in preclinical trial for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.