Short Interest in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Drops By 17.2%

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 13,710,000 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the November 15th total of 16,560,000 shares. Approximately 8.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.42.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $30.51 on Friday. Alkermes has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $32.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.54 and its 200 day moving average is $26.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alkermes news, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at $732,964.05. This represents a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 61,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total transaction of $1,961,112.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,525,762.32. This trade represents a 56.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904. Corporate insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Alkermes by 83.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Alkermes by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alkermes during the second quarter worth about $116,000. 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.