VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases New Shares in Alkermes plc $ALKS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 33,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,733,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alkermes in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 1,041.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALKS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Alkermes from $44.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Alkermes from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.56.

Alkermes Stock Performance

Shares of ALKS opened at $45.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 120.98 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.36. Alkermes plc has a 52 week low of $26.40 and a 52 week high of $55.67.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In other news, SVP Christian Nichols sold 7,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.23, for a total transaction of $372,966.48. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 102,193 shares in the company, valued at $5,030,961.39. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $97,652.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 223,422 shares in the company, valued at $10,726,490.22. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 85,150 shares of company stock worth $4,242,213. Corporate insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for central nervous system diseases. Its research and development activities include treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction and other serious neurological or psychiatric conditions, with an emphasis on long-acting injectable and extended-release formulations.

The company’s marketed products include VIVITROL, an extended-release injectable form of naltrexone used to treat alcohol dependence and prevent relapse to opioid dependence after detoxification; ARISTADA, an extended-release injectable formulation of aripiprazole lauroxil for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; and LYBALVI, an oral combination of olanzapine and samidorphan approved for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in adults.

Founded in Ireland in 1987, Alkermes has developed drug-delivery technologies intended to help extend dosing intervals and support medication adherence.