Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Alkermes was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wells Fargo & Company, reflecting growing investor confidence in the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.52, exceeding expectations, with revenues of $390.66 million, surpassing analyst predictions by over $47 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 95.21% of Alkermes' stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Alkermes from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.31.

Alkermes Stock Down 5.0%

ALKS traded down $1.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,511,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,656. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $25.17 and a twelve month high of $36.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 86,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,206.72. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Alkermes by 488.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,234,995 shares of the company's stock worth $172,860,000 after buying an additional 4,345,523 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Alkermes during the 1st quarter valued at about $66,689,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the second quarter worth about $53,326,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 787.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,135,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,488 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,557,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,363,000 after purchasing an additional 903,802 shares during the period. 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.