Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 1,945,734 Alkermes plc $ALKS

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,945,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,442,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.18% of Alkermes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Alkermes by 237.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,729 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its stake in Alkermes by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 8,091,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Alkermes by 1,070.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,208,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,666 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Alkermes by 787.2% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,135,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Alkermes by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,397,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,924,000 after acquiring an additional 740,248 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ALKS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Alkermes from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alkermes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.67, for a total value of $375,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 77,389 shares in the company, valued at $3,224,799.63. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $87,563.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 229,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,881,008.20. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,102 shares of company stock worth $1,220,628. 4.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Alkermes stock opened at $42.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.90 and its 200-day moving average is $32.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.27. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $25.17 and a 1 year high of $44.57. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.56 and a beta of 0.38.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Alkermes had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $384.55 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Alkermes plc will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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.