Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,540,000 shares, a growth of 14.9% from the July 15th total of 16,130,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in Alkermes by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 75,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Alkermes by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Alkermes by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alkermes by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 76,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, June 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Alkermes from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.70.

Alkermes Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,508,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,891,858. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Alkermes has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $32.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $399.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.30 million. Alkermes had a return on equity of 23.20% and a net margin of 19.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

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.