Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 41.52% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ALKS. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alkermes from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $43.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.56.

Alkermes Stock Performance

ALKS traded up $0.42 on Monday, reaching $43.81. The company had a trading volume of 480,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,377. Alkermes has a fifty-two week low of $26.99 and a fifty-two week high of $55.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.23 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.98 and its 200 day moving average is $41.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, SVP Christian Nichols sold 7,576 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.23, for a total transaction of $372,966.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 102,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,961.39. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $97,652.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,422 shares in the company, valued at $10,726,490.22. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 85,150 shares of company stock worth $4,242,213 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,791,000. S&CO Inc. acquired a new position in Alkermes in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,824,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Alkermes by 131.1% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after buying an additional 25,492 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,479,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 390,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,926,000 after buying an additional 67,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Company Profile

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for central nervous system diseases. Its research and development activities include treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction and other serious neurological or psychiatric conditions, with an emphasis on long-acting injectable and extended-release formulations.

The company’s marketed products include VIVITROL, an extended-release injectable form of naltrexone used to treat alcohol dependence and prevent relapse to opioid dependence after detoxification; ARISTADA, an extended-release injectable formulation of aripiprazole lauroxil for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; and LYBALVI, an oral combination of olanzapine and samidorphan approved for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in adults.

Founded in Ireland in 1987, Alkermes has developed drug-delivery technologies intended to help extend dosing intervals and support medication adherence.