AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 822,261 Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. $NBIX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 43.3%, selling 822,261 shares, and now owns 1,074,630 shares valued at approximately $118.85 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased or initiated positions in Neurocrine Biosciences, with institutional ownership now at 92.59% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Neurocrine Biosciences, with many rating the stock as a "Buy" and setting an average target price of $159.50.

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX - Free Report) by 43.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,074,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 822,261 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.09% of Neurocrine Biosciences worth $118,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Neurocrine Biosciences in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Neurocrine Biosciences in the first quarter valued at $34,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Neurocrine Biosciences in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 116.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 397 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 404.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 409 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.59% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Neurocrine Biosciences news, insider Ingrid Delaet sold 457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $61,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,730 shares in the company, valued at $638,550. This trade represents a 8.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin Charles Gorman sold 106,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.41, for a total transaction of $13,440,164.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 514,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,050,080.36. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 186,960 shares of company stock worth $23,955,553 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NBIX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $154.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $166.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.50.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NBIX opened at $140.40 on Friday. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a one year low of $84.23 and a one year high of $154.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of 41.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.28.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.08. Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $687.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.09 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Neurocrine Biosciences's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Neurocrine Biosciences Profile

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc discovers, develops, and markets pharmaceuticals for neurological, neuroendocrine, and neuropsychiatric disorders in the United States and internationally. The company's products include INGREZZA for tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington's disease; ALKINDI for adrenal insufficiency; Efmody capsules for classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia; Orilissa tablets for endometriosis; and Oriahnn capsules to treat uterine fibroids.

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