Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Raises Stock Position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,302,905 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 419,969 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 1.42% of Alkermes worth $66,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALKS. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Alkermes by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,168,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alkermes by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Alkermes by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 30,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alkermes Price Performance

Shares of Alkermes stock opened at $33.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.20. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 30.80%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 71.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.