Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives $54.56 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.5625.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Alkermes from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Alkermes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Alkermes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nancy Lynn Md Snyderman sold 44,472 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,239,165.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,138.25. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total transaction of $98,811.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 225,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,952,652.48. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 79,574 shares of company stock valued at $3,901,478 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at $54,442,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in Alkermes by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 10,012,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,916 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Alkermes by 237.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,729 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 104.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,968,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,184,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,064,000 after buying an additional 1,256,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $49.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.40 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $25.17 and a twelve month high of $55.67.

About Alkermes

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.