Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Short Interest Update

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

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $31.91 on Friday. Alkermes has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $32.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.74 and a 200-day moving average of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cato T. Laurencin sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $85,708.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,964.05. This trade represents a 10.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 5,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total transaction of $151,813.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,492.45. The trade was a 7.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904. 4.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 0.3% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 220,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,175,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 1.7% in the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 18.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 30,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 17.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALKS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

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.