Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Alkermes by 36.8% during the 4th 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 stake in shares of Alkermes by 147.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 889,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,581,000 after purchasing an additional 529,962 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 558.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth $1,057,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of Alkermes stock traded down $0.23 on Friday, hitting $29.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,024,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,736,975. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average of $31.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.47.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.13 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $307.53 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.30% and a return on equity of 27.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $106,489.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,860,866.90. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Alkermes Company 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.