Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Alkermes has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 18 analysts: 12 recommend buying, four advise holding, one recommends selling and one rates it a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $54.56.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with Wells Fargo raising its target to $65 and maintaining an overweight rating, while JPMorgan set a $61 target with a neutral rating and Bank of America maintained an underperform rating.
• Insiders sold 24,068 shares worth approximately $1.13 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own a substantial 95.21% of Alkermes’ outstanding stock.

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com 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 assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.5625.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Alkermes from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alkermes from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, June 29th.

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 that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total value of $463,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 73,389 shares in the company, valued at $3,780,267.39. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.03, for a total value of $109,897.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 227,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,291,284.70. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,068 shares of company stock valued at $1,126,281. Company insiders own 4.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the second quarter worth about $2,479,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,445 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 688,563 shares of the company's stock worth $24,348,000 after buying an additional 13,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $48.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.92 and a beta of 0.34. Alkermes has a 12 month low of $25.17 and a 12 month high of $55.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $48.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

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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