Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Trading 7.2% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Alkermes shares surged by 7.2% during Wednesday's trading session, reaching a last traded price of $31.53, despite a significant drop in trading volume.
• A variety of equities analysts have rated Alkermes with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and set an average price target of $41.31, indicating expected growth.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52, surpassing estimates and highlighting a 24.86% return on equity and a revenue of $390.66 million.

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) shares traded up 7.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $30.74 and last traded at $31.53. 115,370 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,729,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Alkermes from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.31.

Alkermes Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.27.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. Alkermes had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 23.15%.The business had revenue of $390.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Alkermes has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.030-1.210 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total value of $103,654.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 86,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,206.72. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 1st quarter worth $348,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,997 shares of the company's stock worth $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 28,596 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,362 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,479 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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