Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $54.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alkermes traded as high as $45.76 and last traded at $45.1250, with a volume of 324922 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.51.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Alkermes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Alkermes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Alkermes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Alkermes from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alkermes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other news, Director Christopher I. Wright sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $90,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,168. This represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $67,528.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 231,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,687,725.60. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,102 shares of company stock worth $1,310,828. Corporate insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Alkermes by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 275,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,000 after acquiring an additional 148,696 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the first quarter valued at $213,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 4.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 482,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,927,000 after purchasing an additional 20,091 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Alkermes by 32.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Alkermes by 539.4% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 5,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Up 0.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.79 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.06.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter. Alkermes had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 9.78%.The firm had revenue of $384.55 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alkermes Company Profile

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes’ portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes’ commercial franchise features several approved products.