Quantessence Capital LLC Purchases New Stake in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Quantessence Capital LLC acquired a new position in Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Alkermes by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,478,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,568,000 after buying an additional 57,697 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Alkermes by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,450,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,242,000 after acquiring an additional 209,740 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alkermes by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,019,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,842,000 after acquiring an additional 128,701 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alkermes during the 4th quarter valued at $70,462,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Alkermes by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,302,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,232,000 after purchasing an additional 419,969 shares during the period. 95.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 144,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,056,298.75. This trade represents a 71.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alkermes Trading Up 0.4 %

ALKS stock opened at $27.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.40. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $36.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Alkermes plc will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Alkermes in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Alkermes from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Alkermes in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Alkermes from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of 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, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

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.