Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $61.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alkermes traded as high as $48.32 and last traded at $48.11, with a volume of 2451741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.02.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ALKS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Alkermes from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alkermes from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.06.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total transaction of $319,590.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 85,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,163.39. This trade represents a 9.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $67,528.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 231,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,687,725.60. The trade was a 0.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,310,828. 4.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 933.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Alkermes by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Alkermes by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 58.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.85.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $384.55 million during the quarter. Alkermes had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 9.78%. Research analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alkermes Company Profile

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes’ portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes’ commercial franchise features several approved products.