Affinity Asset Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,100,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Alkermes accounts for about 4.2% of Affinity Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.68% of Alkermes worth $31,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 2,231.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Alkermes by 558.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ALKS. StockNews.com upgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,298.75. This represents a 71.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $27.54 on Tuesday. Alkermes plc has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $36.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share 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.