Is Alkermes Plc (ALKS) A Good Stock To Buy?

Because Alkermes Plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) has faced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there was a specific group of funds who were dropping their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies cut the biggest position of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $14.8 million in stock, and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $14.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Alkermes Plc (NASDAQ:ALKS). These stocks are Shaw Communications Inc (USA) (NYSE:SJR), Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), Amdocs Limited (NASDAQ:DOX), and NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP). This group of stocks’ market values are closest to ALKS’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $607 million. That figure was $523 million in ALKS’s case. Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Shaw Communications Inc (USA) (NYSE:SJR) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Alkermes Plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard DRI might be a better candidate to consider a long position.