Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Decreases Stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,596 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.11% of Alkermes worth $5,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,478,728 shares of the company's stock worth $157,568,000 after purchasing an additional 57,697 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,450,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,242,000 after buying an additional 209,740 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,019,508 shares of the company's stock worth $86,842,000 after buying an additional 128,701 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,302,905 shares of the company's stock worth $66,232,000 after buying an additional 419,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in Alkermes by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,988,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,198,000 after acquiring an additional 50,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,494.50. This represents a 69.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alkermes Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ALKS stock traded down $0.04 on Monday, reaching $27.80. 414,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,012. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.43. Alkermes plc has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ALKS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.50.

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.