Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Mizuho

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) was upgraded by research analysts at Mizuho to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

ALKS has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Alkermes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Alkermes from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.56.

Alkermes Stock Performance

ALKS stock opened at $46.71 on Wednesday. Alkermes has a 1-year low of $26.99 and a 1-year high of $55.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.92 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Insider Activity

In other Alkermes news, EVP David Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $97,652.34. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christian Nichols sold 7,576 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.23, for a total transaction of $372,966.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 102,193 shares in the company, valued at $5,030,961.39. This represents a 6.90% 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 three months, insiders sold 85,150 shares of company stock worth $4,242,213. 4.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALKS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Alkermes by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Alkermes by 33.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alkermes by 4.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Alkermes by 1.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 4.0% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Company Profile

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.