Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 397,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,441 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $11,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alkermes by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Alkermes by 2,231.5% during the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 558.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Alkermes stock opened at $31.42 on Monday. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.56 and its 200-day moving average is $30.74. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.51.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.19). Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. The business had revenue of $306.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Alkermes’s revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ALKS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.33.

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.