Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.38.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $24.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.61 and a 200-day moving average of $26.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.20. Alkermes has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $33.71.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.15). Alkermes had a net margin of 25.17% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The company had revenue of $350.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.10) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alkermes will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alkermes announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $292,717.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 65,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 147.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 28,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the third quarter worth approximately $387,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Alkermes by 32.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 26,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 6,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the 3rd quarter worth $12,201,000. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

About Alkermes

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.