Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Piper Sandler lowered its price target on Alkermes from $45 to $43 but kept an "overweight" rating, a target that still implies roughly a 55% upside from the current share price.
• Earnings weakness: Alkermes reported $0.29 EPS vs. $0.43 expected, with revenue down 10.6% year-over-year and management setting FY2026 guidance of about -0.80 to -0.68 EPS, indicating near-term pressure.
• Mixed ownership signals: insiders sold about 157,434 shares (~$5.3M) over the last 90 days, while large institutions and hedge funds (Norges Bank, Baker Bros., UBS, JPMorgan) materially increased positions, leaving institutional ownership near 95%.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $45.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 55.18% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on ALKS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Alkermes from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Alkermes from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.93.

Alkermes Stock Down 1.6%

Alkermes stock opened at $27.71 on Tuesday. Alkermes has a 52-week low of $25.17 and a 52-week high of $36.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $31.43 and its 200 day moving average is $30.14. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 0.53.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Alkermes had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 16.37%.The business had revenue of $384.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $380.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Alkermes has set its FY 2026 guidance at -0.798--0.680 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alkermes will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total transaction of $267,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 89,389 shares in the company, valued at $2,656,641.08. The trade was a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Shane Cooke sold 61,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total value of $2,115,684.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 103,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,430.08. This represents a 37.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 157,434 shares of company stock worth $5,305,794 in the last ninety days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALKS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at $54,442,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its stake in Alkermes by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 10,012,267 shares of the company's stock worth $280,143,000 after buying an additional 1,920,916 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Alkermes by 237.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,206,000 after buying an additional 1,790,729 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Alkermes by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,184,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,064,000 after buying an additional 1,256,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Alkermes by 1,070.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,208,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,268,000 after buying an additional 1,105,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Company Profile

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes' portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes' commercial franchise features several approved products.

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