Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $192.8571.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $144.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NBIX opened at $170.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.79. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 52 week low of $122.14 and a 52 week high of $181.18.

Insider Activity

In other Neurocrine Biosciences news, insider Jude Onyia sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.25, for a total transaction of $1,762,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,846 shares in the company, valued at $4,141,821.50. This represents a 29.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Julie Cooke sold 36,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $5,770,298.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,495,266.28. This represents a 62.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 394,172 shares of company stock worth $62,221,181. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Neurocrine Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,271,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,652,000 after buying an additional 498,058 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 8.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,418,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,665,000 after acquiring an additional 180,100 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,059,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,342,000 after acquiring an additional 34,457 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,291,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,248,000 after acquiring an additional 88,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,221,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,201,000 after acquiring an additional 295,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

About Neurocrine Biosciences

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: NBIX) is a biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California, focused on developing treatments for neurological, endocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders. Since its founding in 1992, the company has pursued a research‐driven strategy aimed at addressing unmet medical needs in movement disorders, reproductive health and central nervous system conditions. Neurocrine’s operations encompass drug discovery, clinical development and commercialization activities.

The company’s lead marketed product, Ingrezza™ (valbenazine), is indicated for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder associated with long-term antipsychotic use.