Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,019,508 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,701 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $86,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Alkermes by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alkermes by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alkermes by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

ALKS stock opened at $28.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.41. Alkermes plc has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $36.45.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,494.50. The trade was a 69.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.40% 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.