49,400 Shares in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Bought by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 49,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Alkermes during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Alkermes by 147.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alkermes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Trading Up 1.0 %

ALKS opened at $24.01 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.96 and a 200 day moving average of $27.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Alkermes plc has a 12 month low of $22.01 and a 12 month high of $33.71. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.55.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $377.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.78 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 21.39%. Alkermes’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Alkermes announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 15th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ALKS. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet raised Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alkermes 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 $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Alkermes

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.