Sector Gamma AS Takes Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Sector Gamma AS bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 200,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,548,000. Alkermes makes up about 1.3% of Sector Gamma AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Alkermes by 147.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Alkermes during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Alkermes during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALKS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alkermes

In other Alkermes news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $292,717.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,099.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.68. 1,016,741 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,805,169. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.87. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.01 and a 1 year high of $33.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.55.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.29). Alkermes had a net margin of 21.39% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The company had revenue of $377.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Alkermes declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 15th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Alkermes Profile

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.