Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Buys 10,886 Shares of Alkermes plc $ALKS

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 390,344 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,886 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $13,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp bought a new position in Alkermes during the first quarter worth $362,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alkermes by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,736,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Spruce Street Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 1st quarter worth about $11,244,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Alkermes by 413.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knott David M Jr lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Knott David M Jr now owns 120,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Price Performance

ALKS stock opened at $52.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.92 and its 200-day moving average is $37.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 58.77 and a beta of 0.34. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $25.17 and a 1 year high of $55.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alkermes news, Director Christopher I. Wright sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $90,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,168. This represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total value of $463,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 73,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,780,267.39. This trade represents a 10.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,494,410. 4.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALKS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alkermes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alkermes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

Alkermes Profile

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.