Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.70.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Monday, June 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Alkermes from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of ALKS opened at $27.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.78. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $22.01 and a twelve month high of $32.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $399.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $393.30 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 19.15%. Alkermes’s quarterly revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the second quarter valued at about $228,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 47.0% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 27,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 8,940 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Alkermes by 10.7% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 244,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,901,000 after acquiring an additional 23,600 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in Alkermes by 28.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 7,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the second quarter valued at $390,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.