Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

ALKS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Alkermes from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.93.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $29.39 on Wednesday. Alkermes has a 1-year low of $25.17 and a 1-year high of $36.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.13. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 0.53.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $384.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $380.44 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 16.37%.Alkermes’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alkermes will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, Director Shane Cooke sold 61,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total value of $2,115,684.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 103,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,430.08. This trade represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 109,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,293,070. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 157,434 shares of company stock worth $5,305,794 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 933.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Alkermes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes’ portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes’ commercial franchise features several approved products.