Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Neurocrine Biosciences from “hold” to “buy.” Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $202.32.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $3.29, beating the $1.91 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.12 billion topped forecasts and rose 41.3% year over year.
• Shares opened at $164.63; the stock has a 52-week range of $122.14 to $186.12 and a market capitalization of $16.73 billion.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NBIX. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $207.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Neurocrine Biosciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.32.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

NBIX stock opened at $164.63 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $147.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.05. Neurocrine Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $122.14 and a fifty-two week high of $186.12. The company has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.36.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $1.38. Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 18.98% and a return on equity of 24.11%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Neurocrine Biosciences news, insider David Boyer sold 826 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.45, for a total transaction of $130,053.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,278.90. The trade was a 8.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Matt Abernethy sold 2,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.20, for a total value of $363,289.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,808 shares in the company, valued at $6,729,417.60. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,137 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,332. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Neurocrine Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NBIX. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 3.5% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,066 shares of the company's stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC raised its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Entrust Financial LLC now owns 202 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.59% of the company's stock.

About Neurocrine Biosciences

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc is a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for neurological, neuroendocrine and psychiatric disorders. The company's research programs target conditions in which treatments may address significant unmet medical needs.

Neurocrine's leading product is INGREZZA (valbenazine), a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington's disease.

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