Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates decreased its position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Alkermes were worth $497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 147.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 28,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $322,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the third quarter worth about $387,000. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC bought a new position in Alkermes in the third quarter worth about $12,201,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Alkermes stock opened at $24.68 on Friday. Alkermes plc has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $33.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.55.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $377.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.78 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 16.10% and a net margin of 21.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Alkermes declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $292,717.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 65,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. TheStreet upgraded Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.38.

Alkermes 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.