Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.38.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALKS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alkermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised shares of Alkermes from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $292,717.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,099.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the third quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 147.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes in the third quarter worth $37,000. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alkermes Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,167,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,888,277. Alkermes has a 12-month low of $22.01 and a 12-month high of $33.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50 day moving average is $27.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.81.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.29). Alkermes had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The business had revenue of $377.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.02) EPS. The business's revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alkermes will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Alkermes announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 15th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.