Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 572 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,942 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Alkermes by 521.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 175,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,860,000 after acquiring an additional 147,000 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Alkermes by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 377,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,472,000 after purchasing an additional 169,385 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Alkermes by 15.7% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 308,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,642,000 after purchasing an additional 41,753 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Alkermes by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 36,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 9,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,461,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,930,000 after buying an additional 133,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $24.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.39 and its 200 day moving average is $26.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.01 and a 52-week high of $33.71.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.15). Alkermes had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The firm had revenue of $350.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Alkermes declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $292,717.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 65,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,099.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ALKS. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. UBS Group lowered shares of Alkermes from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet raised shares of Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.38.

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.