California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,304 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Alkermes worth $8,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Alkermes by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,684,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Alkermes by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,302,905 shares of the company's stock worth $66,232,000 after purchasing an additional 419,969 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Alkermes by 147.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 889,472 shares of the company's stock worth $25,581,000 after purchasing an additional 529,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Alkermes by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,988,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,198,000 after buying an additional 50,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company's stock.

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Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of ALKS traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,741,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,757,142. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $33.14 and its 200 day moving average is $30.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ALKS. 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 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Alkermes from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,494.50. This trade represents a 69.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.89% 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.