Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,212,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 283,511 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Alkermes worth $601,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Alkermes by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 100,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alkermes by 3.8% in the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alkermes by 3.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Alkermes by 54.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Alkermes by 1.8% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 39,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Trading Up 4.4%

Alkermes stock opened at $28.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.47. Alkermes plc has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $390.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.20 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 24.86%. Alkermes’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALKS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Alkermes from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 3,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.09, for a total transaction of $103,654.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 86,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,206.72. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes 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.