Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Short Interest Up 21.1% in February

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 14,010,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 11,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.3 days. Currently, 8.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Alkermes

In related news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 100,918 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.05, for a total value of $3,234,421.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,290 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,494.50. The trade was a 69.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alkermes

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter worth $70,462,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,684,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Alkermes by 365.5% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,882,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,422 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP increased its position in Alkermes by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,557,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,363,000 after purchasing an additional 903,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alkermes by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,659,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,736,000 after buying an additional 867,492 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $34.37 on Wednesday. Alkermes has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $36.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.94.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.11. Alkermes had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alkermes will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ALKS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Alkermes in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.46.

Alkermes Company Profile

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.