Rock Springs Capital Management LP Acquires 44,758 Shares of Alkermes plc $ALKS

Rock Springs Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 32.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 183,986 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,758 shares during the period. Rock Springs Capital Management LP’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $6,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Alkermes during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the third quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Alkermes by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 1,041.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $52.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.59 and a beta of 0.34. Alkermes plc has a 12-month low of $25.17 and a 12-month high of $55.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALKS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alkermes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Alkermes from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other news, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.03, for a total value of $109,897.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 227,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,291,284.70. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total transaction of $463,590.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,780,267.39. This represents a 10.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 35,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,494,410 in the last three months. 4.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.