Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $7.35, but opened at $7.62. Altimmune shares last traded at $8.47, with a volume of 3,904,249 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter. Altimmune had a negative return on equity of 52.60% and a negative net margin of 199,076.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ALT. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Altimmune to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Altimmune in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Drutz sold 16,011 shares of Altimmune stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.90, for a total transaction of $110,475.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $289,510.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altimmune by 1,282.4% during the 1st quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 470,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 436,000 shares during the last quarter. Knoll Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Altimmune by 183.6% during the first quarter. Knoll Capital Management LLC now owns 567,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,774,000 after purchasing an additional 367,219 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Altimmune by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 570,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 335,444 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Altimmune by 542.8% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 254,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 214,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altimmune during the 2nd quarter valued at $860,000. Institutional investors own 78.05% of the company’s stock.

Altimmune Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $6.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.89. The company has a market cap of $676.59 million, a P/E ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 0.09.

About Altimmune

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.