Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Short Interest Update

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,520,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 31st total of 14,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Alkermes Trading Up 0.8 %

ALKS stock opened at $24.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.86. Alkermes has a fifty-two week low of $22.01 and a fifty-two week high of $33.71.

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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 10,417 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $292,717.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alkermes by 4.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 978,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,489,000 after buying an additional 39,009 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 12,804 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 26,930 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alkermes during the 1st quarter valued at about $329,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in Alkermes by 1,874.2% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 400,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,850,000 after purchasing an additional 380,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALKS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Alkermes from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Alkermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised shares of Alkermes from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.38.

Alkermes Company 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.