Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street sentiment is constructive: Alkermes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 18 analysts, with 12 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of about $49.63.
• Analysts are adjusting targets upward overall: Recent calls included Mizuho raising its target to $65 and RBC lifting its target to $56, while others kept more cautious views such as neutral or underperform.
• The stock has been strong and is near its 52-week high: Alkermes opened at $54.29, close to its 1-year high of $55.67, with a market cap of about $9.05 billion and heavy institutional ownership of 95.21%.

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.6250.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALKS shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alkermes from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Alkermes from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALKS opened at $54.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.32 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.46. Alkermes has a 1-year low of $25.17 and a 1-year high of $55.67.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Alkermes had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $384.55 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alkermes will post -0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total transaction of $463,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 73,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,780,267.39. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christopher I. Wright sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $90,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,680 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,168. The trade was a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 35,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,494,410 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALKS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alkermes by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 12,141 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alkermes by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Alkermes by 33.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Alkermes by 4.5% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Alkermes by 0.9% in the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 43,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,290,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes' portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes' commercial franchise features several approved products.

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