Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Upgraded to Neutral at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has $38.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $21.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ALKS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alkermes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Alkermes Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $35.40 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.49. Alkermes has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alkermes will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 61,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total transaction of $1,961,112.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,525,762.32. The trade was a 56.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,964.05. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 318,400 shares of company stock worth $10,702,911. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Alkermes by 2,231.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 558.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Company Profile

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.