Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.15, but opened at $32.96. Alkermes shares last traded at $34.56, with a volume of 1,574,425 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALKS. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.93.

Alkermes Stock Up 14.6%

The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.19.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Alkermes had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 16.37%.The business had revenue of $384.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.29, for a total value of $59,575.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 237,660 shares in the company, valued at $6,961,061.40. The trade was a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,959,118.20. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 157,434 shares of company stock worth $5,305,794. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Alkermes by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 42,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after buying an additional 7,269 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 29,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 9,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 82,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes’ portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes’ commercial franchise features several approved products.