Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 81,673 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 43.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,357 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,673 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Alkermes worth $2,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Alkermes in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alkermes by 166.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,761 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Stock Down 0.9 %

ALKS traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,261,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,848,240. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. Alkermes plc has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $33.71. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $350.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.26 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The company's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALKS shares. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Alkermes from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.38.

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.