Alkermes plc $ALKS Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Alkermes stake by 65.4%, buying an additional 584,168 shares to hold 1,477,214 shares (about 0.89% of the company) valued at roughly $41.34 million at quarter-end.
• Other institutional moves include UBS boosting its stake by 237.4% to 2,544,895 shares (~$71.21M); overall institutional ownership is high at 95.21%, while insiders sold 159,468 shares last quarter and now own 4.59%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $44.07 average target, supported by recent upgrades/target raises from firms such as Truist, Wolfe Research and Wells Fargo.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,477,214 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 584,168 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.89% of Alkermes worth $41,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALKS. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at $173,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Alkermes by 237.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company's stock worth $71,206,000 after buying an additional 1,790,729 shares during the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,141,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alkermes by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 12,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 65,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 19,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ALKS shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Alkermes in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Alkermes from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Alkermes from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.07.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALKS opened at $33.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57 and a beta of 0.44. Alkermes plc has a one year low of $25.17 and a one year high of $36.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.94.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Alkermes had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $384.55 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 109,769 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,070. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shane Cooke sold 61,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total value of $2,115,684.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 103,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,586,430.08. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 159,468 shares of company stock valued at $5,433,699 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.59% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Profile

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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