Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Altimmune Call Options (NASDAQ:ALT)

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 15,717 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 236% compared to the average daily volume of 4,676 call options.

Altimmune Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALT opened at $3.08 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.88 and its 200 day moving average is $3.64. The firm has a market cap of $598.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.31 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 29.56 and a current ratio of 29.56. Altimmune has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $6.44.

Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.07. Altimmune had a negative return on equity of 42.57% and a negative net margin of 214,860.98%. Research analysts predict that Altimmune will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Altimmune in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Altimmune from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Altimmune in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Altimmune in a report on Monday, May 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altimmune

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALT. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Altimmune by 356.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,996,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559,562 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Altimmune by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,119,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Altimmune by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,373,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,514 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC lifted its stake in Altimmune by 514.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,244,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Altimmune in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,331,000. 78.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altimmune Company Profile

Altimmune, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, dedicated to the development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. The company leverages proprietary technology platforms to create intranasal vaccine candidates and novel therapies targeting liver diseases and metabolic disorders. Altimmune’s approach emphasizes the stimulation of both systemic and mucosal immune responses to address unmet medical needs in infectious and chronic conditions.

Among its lead programs, NasoVAX is an investigational intranasal influenza vaccine designed to provide broad, long-lasting protection through a single, non-invasive dose.