Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Short Interest Update

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,740,000 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the December 15th total of 12,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days. Approximately 6.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Alkermes from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Insider Activity

In other Alkermes news, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total transaction of $85,708.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,964.05. The trade was a 10.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 61,151 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total value of $1,961,112.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,525,762.32. This represents a 56.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904 over the last ninety days. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alkermes

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 111,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Alkermes by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 4,378 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Alkermes by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 120,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after buying an additional 2,903 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,098,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Alkermes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $582,000. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alkermes Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of ALKS stock opened at $29.75 on Friday. Alkermes has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $32.88. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 3.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.79.

About Alkermes

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.