Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $48.32 and last traded at $48.11, with a volume of 2451741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALKS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised shares of Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Alkermes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alkermes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.62.

Alkermes Stock Up 4.5%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.54. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 53.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter. Alkermes had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 9.78%.The company had revenue of $384.55 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post -0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total value of $319,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 85,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,163.39. This trade represents a 9.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total transaction of $67,528.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 231,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,687,725.60. The trade was a 0.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 35,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,310,828 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth $54,442,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 10,012,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,143,000 after buying an additional 1,920,916 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Alkermes by 237.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after buying an additional 1,790,729 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alkermes by 104.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,968,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,976,000 after buying an additional 1,514,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alkermes by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,184,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,377 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.