Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,596 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.11% of Alkermes worth $5,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,478,728 shares of the company's stock worth $157,568,000 after purchasing an additional 57,697 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Alkermes by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,450,707 shares of the company's stock worth $99,242,000 after buying an additional 209,740 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,019,508 shares of the company's stock worth $86,842,000 after acquiring an additional 128,701 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,302,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,232,000 after purchasing an additional 419,969 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Alkermes by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,988,796 shares of the company's stock worth $57,198,000 after purchasing an additional 50,470 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALKS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $5,131,207.07. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company's stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS stock opened at $27.11 on Wednesday. Alkermes plc has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $36.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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