Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 877,943 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,373 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $24,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its position in Alkermes by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 75,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its position in Alkermes by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Alkermes by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Alkermes by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 220,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,175,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Alkermes by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $29.23 on Wednesday. Alkermes plc has a 52 week low of $22.06 and a 52 week high of $32.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 58,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total transaction of $1,774,599.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,505,664. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 10,471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.53, for a total transaction of $309,208.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,930,498.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 58,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total transaction of $1,774,599.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,300 shares in the company, valued at $2,505,664. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ALKS. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Alkermes from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Alkermes 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.