Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $52.00. The stock had previously closed at $33.69, but opened at $34.41. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alkermes shares last traded at $34.25, with a volume of 138,247 shares.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ALKS. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.38.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,056,298.75. This trade represents a 71.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,462,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,684,000. RTW Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,557,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,363,000 after buying an additional 903,802 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,659,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,736,000 after acquiring an additional 867,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the third quarter worth $16,126,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share 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.