Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $13.80 Million Stock Holdings in Alkermes plc $ALKS

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Alkermes plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 390,344 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,886 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Alkermes worth $13,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alkermes in the 4th quarter valued at $54,442,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Alkermes by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 10,012,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,143,000 after buying an additional 1,920,916 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Alkermes by 237.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,544,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,206,000 after buying an additional 1,790,729 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Alkermes by 104.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,968,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,976,000 after buying an additional 1,514,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Alkermes by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,184,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,377 shares during the last quarter. 95.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig C. Hopkinson sold 9,000 shares of Alkermes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total transaction of $463,590.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,780,267.39. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Joseph Gaffin sold 2,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.03, for a total transaction of $109,897.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 227,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,291,284.70. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 35,102 shares of company stock valued at $1,494,410 in the last ninety days. 4.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALKS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Alkermes in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Alkermes from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alkermes in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Alkermes in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Alkermes from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

Alkermes Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ALKS opened at $52.89 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.44. The firm has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 58.77 and a beta of 0.34. Alkermes plc has a 1 year low of $25.17 and a 1 year high of $55.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines to address unmet needs in the central nervous system (CNS). The company applies its proprietary drug delivery technologies and therapeutic expertise to advance treatments for addiction, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and depression. Alkermes’ portfolio includes both commercial products and a pipeline of investigational therapies designed to improve patient outcomes and support long-term disease management.

Alkermes’ commercial franchise features several approved products.