Avoro Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,450,000 Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,450,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,462,000. Alkermes makes up 1.0% of Avoro Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 108.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,867,000 after purchasing an additional 220,893 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alkermes by 254.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 23,541 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $582,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Alkermes in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,098,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 120,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,903 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALKS has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.50.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $27.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.73 and its 200 day moving average is $30.44. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. On average, analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $5,131,207.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,875 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,298.75. This represents a 71.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes 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.