Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Shares Sold by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,518 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Alkermes were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ALKS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alkermes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $281,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Alkermes by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Alkermes by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 104,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 29,998 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Alkermes by 92.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 95,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 45,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Alkermes in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alkermes Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALKS opened at $34.35 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Alkermes plc has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $36.45.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALKS. UBS Group raised Alkermes from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Alkermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.33.

Insider Activity at Alkermes

In other 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 value of $85,708.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.53, for a total value of $5,131,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,298.75. The trade was a 71.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 309,179 shares of company stock worth $10,412,450 in the last three months. 4.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.