Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,567 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,581 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.09% of Alkermes worth $3,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Alkermes by 2,394.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,821 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 28.6% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Alkermes by 18.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,890 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Alkermes by 17.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,956 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Alkermes during the third quarter worth about $216,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,221 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.50, for a total transaction of $290,461.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,881,495. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 5,208 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total transaction of $151,813.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,769,492.45. This trade represents a 7.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 323,608 shares of company stock worth $10,854,725. 4.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.18. 376,763 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,690,359. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.02. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.49.

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, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALKS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Alkermes from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho increased their price target on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.36.

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.