Alkermes initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital

RBC Capital initiated coverage of Alkermes (ALKS) with a Sector Perform rating and $40 price target The company’s next-generation orexin has a “potentially best-in-class profile” and over $1.5B in sales, and it could provide visibility to longer-term growth for Alkermes, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, the firm says that with success largely expected in the “increasingly crowded” narcolepsy space, it waits for more de-risking data to better benchmark what the peak opportunity could be. RBC believes Alkermes shares fairly reflect the balance of its near-term earnings pressure against a potential long-term multi-billion opportunity.