Driehaus Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in Alkermes plc $ALKS

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC invested approximately $26.18 million in new shares of Alkermes plc, acquiring 792,831 shares during the first quarter, which represents about 0.48% of the company's stock.
• Alkermes reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $390.66 million, despite a year-over-year decline.
• Several institutions, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and RTW Investments LP, have significantly increased their stakes in Alkermes, indicating strong institutional interest with 95.21% of the company's stock now held by institutional investors.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 792,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,179,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.48% of Alkermes at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Alkermes during the 1st quarter valued at about $348,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alkermes by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 28,596 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Alkermes by 31.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Alkermes by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Alkermes by 54.4% during 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 during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total value of $103,654.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 86,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,206.72. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ALKS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.31.

Alkermes Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of ALKS traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,974,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,812. The company's 50-day moving average is $28.33 and its 200-day moving average is $30.22. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.53.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The firm had revenue of $390.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $343.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Alkermes has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.030-1.210 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.