Baker BROS. Advisors LP Buys 1,920,916 Shares of Alkermes plc $ALKS

Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,012,267 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,920,916 shares during the period. Alkermes makes up 1.6% of Baker BROS. Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Baker BROS. Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of Alkermes worth $280,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,472,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,051,000 after buying an additional 932,507 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 6,668,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 375,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,184,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,064,000 after buying an additional 1,256,377 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,412,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,467,000 after buying an additional 714,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 20.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,397,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,924,000 after buying an additional 740,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $44.51 on Thursday. Alkermes plc has a fifty-two week low of $25.17 and a fifty-two week high of $45.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 49.46 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.06.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $87,563.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 229,524 shares in the company, valued at $9,881,008.20. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christopher I. Wright sold 2,000 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $90,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,680 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,168. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 35,102 shares of company stock worth $1,310,828 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Alkermes in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.13.

About Alkermes

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.