Alkermes' (ALKS) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Alkermes and set a $62 price target, implying approximately 41.5% upside from the reported $43.81 share price. The analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $54.56.
• Alkermes shares rose 1.0% in Monday trading, while the company reported a $7.35 billion market capitalization and a 52-week trading range of $26.99 to $55.67.
• Institutional investors own 95.21% of Alkermes, although insiders sold 85,150 shares valued at about $4.24 million during the latest quarter.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $62.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 41.52% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Alkermes from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho raised shares of Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alkermes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.56.

Alkermes Trading Up 1.0%

ALKS traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.81. The stock had a trading volume of 480,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,377. Alkermes has a 1-year low of $26.99 and a 1-year high of $55.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.23 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, Director Nancy Lynn Md Snyderman sold 44,472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,239,165.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,138.25. The trade was a 74.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $97,652.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 223,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,726,490.22. This represents a 0.90% 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. Insiders sold 85,150 shares of company stock valued at $4,242,213 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $113,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,791,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,580 shares of the company's stock worth $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,733,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Company Profile

Alkermes plc NASDAQ: ALKS is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for central nervous system diseases. Its research and development activities include treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction and other serious neurological or psychiatric conditions, with an emphasis on long-acting injectable and extended-release formulations.

The company's marketed products include VIVITROL, an extended-release injectable form of naltrexone used to treat alcohol dependence and prevent relapse to opioid dependence after detoxification; ARISTADA, an extended-release injectable formulation of aripiprazole lauroxil for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; and LYBALVI, an oral combination of olanzapine and samidorphan approved for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in adults.

Founded in Ireland in 1987, Alkermes has developed drug-delivery technologies intended to help extend dosing intervals and support medication adherence.

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