OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its position in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 80.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,710 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,251 shares during the quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Alkermes were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ALKS. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alkermes by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 2,231.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 558.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALKS. StockNews.com downgraded Alkermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alkermes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Alkermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Alkermes Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:ALKS traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $31.31. 147,634 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,754,571. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.77. Alkermes plc has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $36.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.51.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.19). Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. The business had revenue of $306.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.53 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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.