Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 427,422 Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 427,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,293,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Alkermes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 365.5% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company's stock worth $52,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,422 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 899,764 shares of the company's stock worth $25,877,000 after purchasing an additional 21,821 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,126,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 464,714 shares of the company's stock worth $13,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company's stock worth $11,867,000 after purchasing an additional 220,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company's stock.

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Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of Alkermes stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.60. 4,662,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,697,165. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.05. Alkermes plc has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $36.45.

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 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%. Analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded Alkermes from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.46.

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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.