Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Trading Up 5.4% – Still a Buy?

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) traded up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $31.89 and last traded at $31.83. 1,094,950 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 1,331,394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALKS. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Alkermes Trading Up 5.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.38 and a 200 day moving average of $27.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 5,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total value of $151,813.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 60,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,492.45. This trade represents a 7.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 61,151 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total value of $1,961,112.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,525,762.32. This represents a 56.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904. Corporate insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 14.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,884,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,507,000 after acquiring an additional 371,039 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 301.5% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 2,699,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,961 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Alkermes by 365.5% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,704,000 after buying an additional 1,478,422 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 89.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 803,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,364,000 after purchasing an additional 379,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 766.7% during the 2nd quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 650,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,665,000 after acquiring an additional 575,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

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.