Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ATEC. Barclays began coverage on shares of Alphatec in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Alphatec in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Alphatec from $26.00 to $19.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Alphatec from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Alphatec from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.11.

Alphatec Stock Performance

Shares of ATEC opened at $6.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.30 and its 200-day moving average is $12.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $884.90 million, a P/E ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.21, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Alphatec has a 12-month low of $6.24 and a 12-month high of $18.32.

Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $145.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.55 million. Alphatec had a negative return on equity of 816.57% and a negative net margin of 33.48%. The business’s revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.43) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphatec will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphatec

In other Alphatec news, General Counsel Tyson Eliot Marshall sold 50,232 shares of Alphatec stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.88, for a total value of $546,524.16. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 245,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,672,541.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 22.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alphatec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATEC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphatec by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,615,223 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $59,859,000 after buying an additional 80,101 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphatec in the fourth quarter worth $316,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Alphatec by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,287 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphatec in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Alphatec by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,342 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 4,412 shares during the last quarter. 66.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alphatec

Alphatec Holdings, Inc, a medical technology company, designs, develops, and advances technologies for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and sells implants and instruments through third-party suppliers. The company offers Alpha InformatiX product platform, including EOS imaging system that provides full-body imaging; VEA alignment mobile application, which leverages EOS technology to more quickly quantify alignment parameters on a mobile device; SafeOp Neural InformatiX System that automates electromyographic and somatosensory evoked potential monitoring; and Valence, an intra-operative system that integrates navigation and robotics into spine procedures, as well as Sigma Prone TransPsoas (PTP) Access and PTP Patient Positioning Systems.