Royal Bank of Canada Sells 21,159 Shares of Alkermes plc $ALKS

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 304,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,159 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.18% of Alkermes worth $10,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rock Springs Capital Management LP lifted its position in Alkermes by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 183,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,506,000 after acquiring an additional 44,758 shares during the period. Eagle Health Investments LP boosted its stake in Alkermes by 191.8% during the first quarter. Eagle Health Investments LP now owns 238,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,439,000 after acquiring an additional 156,873 shares in the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alkermes in the first quarter worth about $2,974,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Alkermes by 131.1% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 25,492 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Alkermes during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,525,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alkermes Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $49.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.83. Alkermes plc has a 52 week low of $25.17 and a 52 week high of $55.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALKS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alkermes from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alkermes from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Alkermes from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alkermes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total value of $463,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,389 shares in the company, valued at $3,780,267.39. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nancy Lynn Md Snyderman sold 44,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,239,165.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,138.25. This trade represents a 74.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,574 shares of company stock valued at $3,901,478. Insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

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.