Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $62.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 51.77% from the company’s previous close.

ALKS has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $43.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.47.

Alkermes Price Performance

Alkermes stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.85. 2,292,914 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,142,522. Alkermes has a one year low of $27.00 and a one year high of $55.67. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.50 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, Director Nancy Lynn Md Snyderman sold 44,472 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,239,165.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,138.25. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christian Nichols sold 7,576 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.23, for a total transaction of $372,966.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 102,193 shares in the company, valued at $5,030,961.39. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 85,150 shares of company stock valued at $4,242,213. 4.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 10,012,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,522,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,850,000 after acquiring an additional 109,595 shares in the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 18.3% in the first quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 4,200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,512,000 after buying an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,080,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,198,000 after buying an additional 19,382 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 104.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,968,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,976,000 after buying an additional 1,514,783 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alkermes Company Profile

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for central nervous system diseases. Its research and development activities include treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction and other serious neurological or psychiatric conditions, with an emphasis on long-acting injectable and extended-release formulations.

The company’s marketed products include VIVITROL, an extended-release injectable form of naltrexone used to treat alcohol dependence and prevent relapse to opioid dependence after detoxification; ARISTADA, an extended-release injectable formulation of aripiprazole lauroxil for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; and LYBALVI, an oral combination of olanzapine and samidorphan approved for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in adults.

Founded in Ireland in 1987, Alkermes has developed drug-delivery technologies intended to help extend dosing intervals and support medication adherence.