Short Interest in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Drops By 14.1%

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,740,000 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the December 15th total of 12,500,000 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Alkermes from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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 and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alkermes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,096,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,052. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.34 and a 200-day moving average of $27.79. Alkermes has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $32.88.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 5,208 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total value of $151,813.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,769,492.45. The trade was a 7.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $732,964.05. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 147,738 shares of company stock worth $4,572,904. 4.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the third quarter worth approximately $367,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Alkermes by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 36,490 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 23,921 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,285,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 766.7% during the second quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 650,000 shares of the company's stock worth $15,665,000 after buying an additional 575,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Alkermes by 128.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 31,687 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.