Virtu Financial LLC Takes $626,000 Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 21,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 2,231.5% during the fourth 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 raised its holdings in Alkermes by 558.5% in 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 bought a new position in 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 Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 922,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,921. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Alkermes plc has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $36.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $33.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.29.

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Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. Research analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALKS. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised Alkermes from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

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