Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Stock

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) had its price target increased by analysts at Bank of America from $34.00 to $36.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALKS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised shares of Alkermes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Alkermes in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.07.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Alkermes stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.89. The company had a trading volume of 593,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,353,034. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.52. Alkermes has a 1-year low of $25.17 and a 1-year high of $36.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.44.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Alkermes had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $384.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Alkermes’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Alkermes will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total value of $70,315.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 233,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,075,275.44. The trade was a 0.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Shane Cooke sold 61,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total transaction of $2,115,684.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 103,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,430.08. This trade represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 159,468 shares of company stock worth $5,433,699 in the last quarter. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALKS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Alkermes by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 275,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,000 after buying an additional 148,696 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 482,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,927,000 after buying an additional 20,091 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Alkermes by 32.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Alkermes by 539.4% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 5,885 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alkermes

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.