Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC), might not be a large cap stock, but it led the NASDAQGS gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. The company's trading levels have reached its high for the past year, following the recent bounce in the share price. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company's outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Let's examine Alignment Healthcare's valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there's still a bargain opportunity.

What Is Alignment Healthcare Worth?

According to our valuation model, Alignment Healthcare seems to be fairly priced at around 11% below our intrinsic value, which means if you buy Alignment Healthcare today, you'd be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe the company's true value is $11.20, then there's not much of an upside to gain from mispricing. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Alignment Healthcare's share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

What does the future of Alignment Healthcare look like?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you're looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it's the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 69% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Alignment Healthcare. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in ALHC's positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven't considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?

Are you a potential investor? If you've been keeping tabs on ALHC, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for the company, which means it's worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example - Alignment Healthcare has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you are no longer interested in Alignment Healthcare, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com