Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Decreases Stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 51.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 569,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 613,480 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $16,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Alkermes in the third quarter valued at about $367,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 190.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 36,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 23,921 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alkermes by 254.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 23,541 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Alkermes by 74.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 63,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 220,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $5,131,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,298.75. This represents a 71.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Alkermes stock opened at $33.88 on Wednesday. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.17. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALKS shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.