Neuberger Berman Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Alkermes plc $ALKS

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Alkermes plc by 1,524.5%, acquiring an additional 187,667 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 199,977 shares valued at $6.6 million.
• Alkermes recently reported earnings of $0.52 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.42, with total revenue of $390.66 million, which was higher than anticipated.
• Despite a strong earnings report, Alkermes' stock price decreased by 1.3%, currently trading at $28.26 with a market cap of $4.67 billion and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 1,524.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,977 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 187,667 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.12% of Alkermes worth $6,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 488.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,234,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,860,000 after acquiring an additional 4,345,523 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,462,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 1st quarter worth about $66,689,000. RTW Investments LP lifted its position in Alkermes by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,557,835 shares of the company's stock worth $217,363,000 after acquiring an additional 903,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,659,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,736,000 after purchasing an additional 867,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALKS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded Alkermes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Alkermes from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Alkermes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

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.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS traded down $0.94 on Monday, hitting $28.11. 1,658,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,768,207. The company has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.51. Alkermes plc has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $390.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $343.20 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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.