Craig C. Hopkinson Sells 144,419 Shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Stock

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total transaction of $5,131,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,875 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,298.75. This trade represents a 71.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of ALKS opened at $35.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.49. Alkermes plc has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $36.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.81.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 22.15%. Analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the third quarter valued at $367,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 190.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 36,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 23,921 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 128.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 56,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 31,687 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 254.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 23,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 74.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 63,939 shares during the period. 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.