Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) Short Interest Update

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,740,000 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the December 15th total of 12,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 6.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Alkermes Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALKS traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.47. 1,098,427 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,378,869. Alkermes has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $32.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.49. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Alkermes from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Alkermes in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Alkermes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Alkermes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Alkermes from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alkermes news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 61,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.07, for a total value of $1,961,112.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,762.32. The trade was a 56.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christian Todd Nichols sold 5,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total value of $151,813.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,492.45. The trade was a 7.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,738 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,904 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alkermes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alkermes by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 93,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 111,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 42,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 4,378 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Alkermes by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 120,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,903 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Alkermes in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Institutional investors own 95.21% of the company’s stock.

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.