Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on ALKS. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $31.56 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.66 and a 200-day moving average of $28.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.45. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $32.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 5,208 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total value of $151,813.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,703 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,492.45. This trade represents a 7.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 58,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total transaction of $1,774,599.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 83,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,664. The trade was a 41.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Alkermes by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 137,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,956,000 after acquiring an additional 32,581 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 4,335 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 23,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alkermes by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc, a biopharmaceutical company, researches, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products to address unmet medical needs of patients in therapeutic areas in the United States, Ireland, and internationally. It has a portfolio of proprietary commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical product candidates in development for neurological disorders.