Alkermes plc $ALKS Shares Bought by Knott David M Jr

Knott David M Jr lifted its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 26.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 120,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Alkermes accounts for about 2.5% of Knott David M Jr’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Knott David M Jr’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $4,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at $54,442,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 10,012,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,143,000 after buying an additional 1,920,916 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 237.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after buying an additional 1,790,729 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 104.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,968,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,256,377 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher I. Wright sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $90,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,168. The trade was a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total transaction of $463,590.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 73,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,780,267.39. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 35,102 shares of company stock worth $1,494,410 in the last 90 days. 4.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Alkermes from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Alkermes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $52.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.27. Alkermes plc has a one year low of $25.17 and a one year high of $55.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.33.

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.