Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 64.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,638 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 331,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,530,000 after acquiring an additional 70,574 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth $940,000. HealthInvest Partners AB raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. HealthInvest Partners AB now owns 266,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 29,889 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth $413,000. Finally, C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth $7,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $5,131,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,298.75. The trade was a 71.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ALKS. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Alkermes in a report on Thursday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.46.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $34.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.86. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. Analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.