Primecap Management Co. CA Reduces Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,095,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201,605 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 1.91% of Alkermes worth $89,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ALKS. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position 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 valued at $52,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,422 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,126,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,293,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,190,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,867,000 after acquiring an additional 220,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $34.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.94. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $5,131,207.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,298.75. This represents a 71.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ALKS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Four 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, Alkermes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.46.

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.