Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 13,432 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,922 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,432 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $1,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 2,231.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 558.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alkermes in the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS opened at $33.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.17.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. Research analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,494.50. This represents a 69.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALKS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.46.

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.