Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,500,000 shares, a decline of 8.8% from the November 30th total of 13,710,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.42.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,964.05. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,961,112.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,525,762.32. The trade was a 56.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,738 shares of company stock worth $4,572,904. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Alkermes by 73.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 209,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after buying an additional 88,834 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Alkermes by 3.7% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the 2nd quarter worth $1,807,000. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 17,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS opened at $28.78 on Tuesday. Alkermes has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $32.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.46. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.49.

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.