Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 899,764 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,821 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of Alkermes worth $25,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Alkermes by 2,231.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Alkermes by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Alkermes by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alkermes by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $35.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.89 and a 200 day moving average of $29.07. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.49. Alkermes plc has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,964.05. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.50, for a total value of $290,461.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,881,495. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 323,608 shares of company stock worth $10,854,725. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALKS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.36.

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.