Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $52.00. The stock had previously closed at $33.69, but opened at $34.41. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alkermes shares last traded at $34.25, with a volume of 138,247 shares traded.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ALKS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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 initiated coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Alkermes from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.38.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $5,131,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,056,298.75. The trade was a 71.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 0.3% during 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 period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,203 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Alkermes by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

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.