Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $36.60 and last traded at $36.4550, with a volume of 262321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alkermes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.21.

Alkermes Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 41.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter. The business 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.40, for a total value of $300,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,718,392.60. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $67,528.80. Following 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. Insiders sold a total of 39,102 shares of company stock worth $1,265,090 in the last quarter. 4.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Alkermes by 933.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Alkermes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 57.6% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

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.