Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.72% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.46.

Alkermes Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of ALKS stock opened at $33.41 on Thursday. Alkermes has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $36.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.77.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 30.80% and a net margin of 23.57%. Research analysts predict that Alkermes will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALKS. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alkermes by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Alkermes by 558.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

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.