Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.38.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered Alkermes from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet raised Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, April 19th.

Alkermes Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ALKS opened at $24.88 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.83. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $33.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $377.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.78 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 21.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alkermes announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 15th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 6.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alkermes by 0.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Alkermes by 0.4% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 122,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,443,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Alkermes by 0.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 143,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,012,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.