Altimmune, the small BioTech that is elbowing it’s way into the weight-loss arena, came under attack yesterday. And it was coordinated, planned. It is no coincidence Kerrisdale released their faulty analysis on the day inflation numbers were made known to the world.
Kerrisdale, along with other short sellers such as Citron Research, Melvin Capital Management, Orso Partners and Sophos Capital Management, were targeted by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the end of 2022 as part of investigations into “potential trading abuse ” Not their first rodeo.
**Jonathan Wollebon,** an analyst at Citizens JMP, recommends investors buy the dip.“We think once people take a look through this and figure out that there isn’t much meat on the bone that the stock will recover,” he said. Wall Street is decidedly more bullish on Altimmune. Seven analysts tracked by Bloomberg rate the stock the equivalent of a buy, only one says hold and none rate it a sell. The average 12-month price target of $22, suggests a roughly 150% gain from where the stock currently trades.
**Jefferies** on Kerrisdale sham report: We caught up with mgmt discussing specifics mentioned in a recent short report. While a lot of data were aggregated, we see misinterpretation/mis-categorization including discontinuation/tolerability, weight loss method, target population (diabetes vs. NASH), cross-trial comparison
Roger Song has given his Buy rating for Altimmune’s stock based on a comprehensive evaluation of the company’s prospects, particularly their leading drug candidate, pemvidutide. He has identified significant potential in pemvidutide as a differentiated asset that could effectively address major health concerns such as obesity, NASH, and dyslipidemia. Song has also highlighted the incorrect interpretations in a recent short report, which he believes do not undermine the drug’s positive attributes and the promise it holds for treating these conditions. This optimistic view of the drug’s potential and the company’s strategic positioning contributes to his Buy rating for Altimmune’s stock.
**Fact remains that ALT has FAST TRACK designation, which puts them ahead of competition**
“The FDA’s decision was informed by the results of Altimmune’s studies including its Phase 1b randomized, placebo-controlled study of pemvidutide in subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which showed class-leading relative reductions in liver fat and non-invasive markers of hepatic inflammation and a favorable safety and tolerability profile,” said Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D., President and CEO of Altimmune. “The Fast Track designation reflects Altimmune’s commitment to patients with NASH and efforts to find safe and effective treatments for this condition.”
**Altimmune Bull signs**
Bullish option flow detected in Altimmune with 9,603 calls trading, 1.3x expected, and implied vol increasing over 14 points to 171.98%. 2/23 weekly 10 calls and 2/9 weekly 11 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 2,300 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.08. Earnings are expected on February 27th.
A quick look at fintel, 13F filings – mostly green
* Sectoral
* Blackrock
* Cetera
* Belvedere
* Quinn
* Naples Money
* Vontobel
* The list of green is LONG
As for me. I sold all my Plug and added at 8,05. Averaged up to 3,6 from 2,6.
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