Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 495,521 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,775 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.30% of Alkermes worth $13,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ALKS. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Alkermes during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 618 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 166.4% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ALKS opened at $24.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.56. Alkermes plc has a 12-month low of $22.01 and a 12-month high of $33.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.96. 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 (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Alkermes declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet upgraded Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.38.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction 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 $1,852,099.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

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.