Royce & Associates LP Sells 13,197 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,197 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $367,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 190.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 36,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 23,921 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alkermes by 254.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 23,541 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after buying an additional 63,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 423,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,867,000 after buying an additional 220,893 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $33.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.00. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,494.50. This represents a 69.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALKS shares. UBS Group raised shares of Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.46.

Alkermes 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.