Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 92,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,881 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $2,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 558.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alkermes by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 331,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,530,000 after acquiring an additional 70,574 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the fourth quarter valued at $940,000. Finally, HealthInvest Partners AB boosted its stake in Alkermes by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB now owns 266,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 29,889 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of Alkermes stock opened at $34.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.86. Alkermes plc has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $5,131,207.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,298.75. This represents a 71.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALKS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alkermes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.46.

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.