Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.46.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ALKS shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $33.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.84 and a 200-day moving average of $30.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Alkermes has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alkermes will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total transaction of $3,234,421.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,419,494.50. This represents a 69.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Alkermes by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,273,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Alkermes by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 332,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,566,000 after acquiring an additional 27,604 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 19,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.