Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 12,196 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,049 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,196 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Alkermes were worth $2,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 49,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 13,432 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 147.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 889,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,581,000 after acquiring an additional 529,962 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 558.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,057,000. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of Alkermes stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.33. 1,743,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,739,202. Alkermes plc has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $36.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 86,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,206.72. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALKS shares. UBS Group raised shares of Alkermes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut Alkermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

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.