** Alignment Healthcare's ALHC.O shares up 2.6% premarket to $17.14 after JP Morgan upgrades to 'overweight' from 'neutral'

** JPM analyst team led by John Stansel assumes lead coverage, raises PT by $2 to $20, implying 20% upside to stock's last close

** Following an impressive 2025, ALHC is "positioned to be one of the cleaner ways to play Medicare Advantage into 2026, as we see the company continuing to gain share while its differentiated approach to care, stratification, and engagement supports recent cohort improvement," Stansel says in note to clients

** Even if growth slows in California, which accounts for ~84% of ALHC's enrollment, Stansel says he sees a path to continued >20% enrollment growth in new markets

** Last month, Orange, California-based ALHC posted Q3 rev beat as health plan membership increased by about 26% yr/yr, with 100% of members rated 4 stars or higher for second straight year

** Now, of 13 analysts covering ALHC, 11 rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", 2 rate "hold"; their median PT is $21, per LSEG data

** Through Fri close, ALHC stock up 48% YTD vs 15% gain in the Nasdaq .IXIC

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com))