Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY)

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Incyte with an “equal weight” rating and a $119 price target, implying roughly 2.34% upside from the prior close.
• Incyte’s shares traded at $116.28, while the broader analyst consensus remained “Hold,” with an average price target of $129.33.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.09 in EPS versus the $2.15 consensus and $1.67 billion in revenue, up 37.7% year over year; insiders subsequently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY - Get Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $119.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.34% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price target on shares of Incyte in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Incyte in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Incyte in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Incyte from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $152.00 target price on shares of Incyte in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.33.

Incyte Stock Performance

Incyte stock traded up $3.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.28. The stock had a trading volume of 62,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,384. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $121.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.04. Incyte has a twelve month low of $84.02 and a twelve month high of $132.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.94. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Incyte had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 27.71%. The firm's revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Incyte will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Incyte

In related news, insider Pablo Cagnoni sold 10,801 shares of Incyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.56, for a total value of $1,356,173.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 183,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,002,592. This trade represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrick Mayes sold 41,899 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.46, for a total value of $5,005,254.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,339,741.86. This represents a 40.54% 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 three months, insiders have sold 55,342 shares of company stock valued at $6,659,208. 16.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Incyte by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Incyte by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,408 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the period. Center For Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Incyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $392,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Incyte by 97,757.1% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 75,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,831,000 after purchasing an additional 75,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Incyte by 1,555.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 121,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,783,000 after purchasing an additional 114,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.97% of the company's stock.

Incyte Company Profile

Incyte Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for oncology and inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. The company focuses on therapies that target specific biological pathways, including Janus kinase (JAK), fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) and other mechanisms involved in cancer and immune-related conditions.

Its key products include Jakafi (ruxolitinib), a JAK inhibitor used in the United States for certain blood cancers and graft-versus-host disease; Opzelura (ruxolitinib cream), a topical treatment for atopic dermatitis and nonsegmental vitiligo; and Pemazyre (pemigatinib), an FGFR inhibitor approved for selected patients with cholangiocarcinoma and certain myeloid or lymphoid neoplasms.

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