Primecap Management Co. CA Reduces Holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in Alkermes plc by 3.0%, totaling $99.20 million in stock, after selling 91,415 shares in the first quarter.
• Alkermes received several upgrades from brokerages, with UBS Group raising its price target from $33.00 to $42.00, reflecting a consensus target price of $41.08.
• In its latest earnings report, Alkermes posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $390.66 million, though down 2.1% year-over-year.

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,004,095 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,415 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 1.82% of Alkermes worth $99,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 100,032 shares of the company's stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,362 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Alkermes by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,352 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Alkermes by 54.4% in the first 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 period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total transaction of $103,654.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 86,208 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,206.72. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alkermes Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,371,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,159,947. Alkermes plc has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $36.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.66.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $390.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $343.20 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 23.15%. Alkermes's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ALKS. Wall Street Zen lowered Alkermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upgraded Alkermes from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Alkermes from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 21st. 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. According to MarketBeat, Alkermes has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.08.

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.