Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ALKS. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alkermes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.46.

Alkermes Stock Performance

ALKS stock opened at $34.03 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.84. Alkermes has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.61.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total transaction of $3,234,421.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,494.50. This represents a 69.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Alkermes during the third quarter worth approximately $367,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 190.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 36,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 23,921 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 254.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 23,541 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 74.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 63,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 108.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,867,000 after acquiring an additional 220,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% 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.