Swiss National Bank Sells 6,100 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 307,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $8,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alkermes by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Alkermes by 2,231.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 558.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total transaction of $3,234,421.90. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Stock Up 2.0 %

ALKS stock opened at $34.60 on Friday. Alkermes plc has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $36.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.04.

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 return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alkermes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.