Arizona State Retirement System Buys 1,663 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,233 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 352.0% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 15,035 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,847,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,030,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Alkermes by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 18,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $24.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.55. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $33.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.13.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $362.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alkermes declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 15th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $292,717.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 65,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALKS. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet raised shares of Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

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.