Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Sells 131,809 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,476,255 shares of the company's stock after selling 131,809 shares during the quarter. Alkermes accounts for 4.9% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC owned 3.28% of Alkermes worth $151,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the third quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 147.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $292,717.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALKS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group lowered Alkermes from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Alkermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.25.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.42. 1,895,023 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,902,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.55. The business's fifty day moving average is $28.17 and its 200-day moving average is $27.19. Alkermes plc has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $33.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $377.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alkermes declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 15th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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.

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