GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 147.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at $387,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Alkermes by 32.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 6,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 4.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,761,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,344,000 after acquiring an additional 106,749 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 7.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $24.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.20. Alkermes plc has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $33.71. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.73.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $350.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.26 million. Alkermes had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALKS. UBS Group cut Alkermes from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, April 1st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.38.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In related 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 65,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,099.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alkermes 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.