Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,740,000 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the December 31st total of 12,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 6.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total transaction of $85,708.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,964.05. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 58,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,300 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,664. This trade represents a 41.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 248,656 shares of company stock worth $7,807,326. Corporate insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 365.5% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,704,000 after buying an additional 1,478,422 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Alkermes during the third quarter valued at about $16,126,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 108.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,867,000 after purchasing an additional 220,893 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 218.4% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 270,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,576,000 after purchasing an additional 185,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HealthInvest Partners AB increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 243.9% during the 3rd quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB now owns 236,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,623,000 after purchasing an additional 167,810 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Price Performance

Alkermes stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.53. 1,934,097 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,275,650. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.68 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.33. Alkermes has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $32.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALKS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Alkermes Company Profile

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.