Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ALKS. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Alkermes from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Alkermes Price Performance

Alkermes stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $35.89. 2,626,767 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,335,446. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.81. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $36.25.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 24.92%. Equities analysts expect that Alkermes will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,964.05. This represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 323,608 shares of company stock worth $10,854,725. 4.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Alkermes in the 3rd quarter valued at $367,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Alkermes by 190.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 36,490 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 23,921 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 128.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,261 shares of the company's stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 31,687 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 254.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 23,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Alkermes by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,493 shares of the company's stock worth $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 63,939 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company's stock.

About Alkermes

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.