Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Sold by Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lowered its position in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALKS. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Alkermes by 365.5% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,422 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in Alkermes in the third quarter valued at $16,126,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at $12,293,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new position in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at $7,190,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Alkermes by 108.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,867,000 after acquiring an additional 220,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,419,494.50. This trade represents a 69.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alkermes Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ ALKS opened at $34.03 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.86.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ALKS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised shares of Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.46.

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.