Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,600 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Alkermes worth $2,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in Alkermes during the first quarter worth $4,369,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 132.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 32,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 18,667 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 660.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 21,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 19,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $24.42 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day moving average is $27.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.86. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $33.71.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.29). Alkermes had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The company had revenue of $377.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Alkermes declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 15th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ALKS shares. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group downgraded Alkermes from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet upgraded Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $292,717.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,099.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alkermes Company 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.