Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALKS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho upped their target price on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Alkermes Price Performance

NASDAQ ALKS opened at $29.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.54. Alkermes has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $32.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 61,151 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total value of $1,961,112.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,525,762.32. This trade represents a 56.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $732,964.05. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904 over the last quarter. 4.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Alkermes by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,640,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,079 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Alkermes by 14.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,884,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,507,000 after purchasing an additional 371,039 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC raised its position in Alkermes by 301.5% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 2,699,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,961 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Alkermes by 87.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,203,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,103,000 after buying an additional 1,025,905 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 365.5% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,704,000 after buying an additional 1,478,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

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.