Brokerages Set Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) PT at $38.85

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.85.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company.

Alkermes Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Alkermes stock opened at $31.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.00. Alkermes has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.19). Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. The firm had revenue of $306.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Alkermes’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total transaction of $103,654.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 86,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,206.72. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Alkermes by 2,394.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 23,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,737 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 4,335 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.