Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 14,010,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 11,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.3 days. Currently, 8.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,419,494.50. This represents a 69.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALKS. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth about $70,462,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth about $56,684,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 365.5% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,422 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,557,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,363,000 after acquiring an additional 903,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,659,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,736,000 after acquiring an additional 867,492 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALKS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.46.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS opened at $34.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.90. Alkermes has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $36.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. Analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Alkermes Company 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.