Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Alkermes plc by 74.3%, selling over 2.5 million shares and retaining 890,144 shares valued at approximately $29 million.
• Alkermes reported $0.13 EPS for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.32, with revenue down 12.6% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.92 for the stock.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 74.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 890,144 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,572,938 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.54% of Alkermes worth $29,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

ALKS stock traded down $0.40 on Friday, reaching $26.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,694,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,271. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $29.59 and its 200 day moving average is $30.85. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.44.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $306.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.53 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.30% and a return on equity of 27.52%. The company's revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ALKS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alkermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised Alkermes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Alkermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total value of $103,654.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 86,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,206.72. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Profile

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.