Insider Selling: Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) CFO Sells $363,289.20 in Stock

Key Points

• Neurocrine CFO Matt Abernethy sold 2,311 shares for $363,289 at an average price of $157.20, reducing his position by 5.12%. The sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• Neurocrine shares fell to $150.02, while the company reported strong quarterly results: EPS of $2.85 versus a $1.65 estimate and revenue of $959 million, up 39.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.09; institutional investors own 92.59% of the company.

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) CFO Matt Abernethy sold 2,311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.20, for a total value of $363,289.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,729,417.60. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock traded down $7.20 on Tuesday, reaching $150.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,332,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,192,526. The business's 50-day moving average price is $164.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.60. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.14 and a fifty-two week high of $186.12. The stock has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $1.20. The business had revenue of $959.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $891.16 million. Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 22.43%. Neurocrine Biosciences's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NBIX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $144.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $249.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Neurocrine Biosciences from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,310,886,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $162,664,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,827,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $107,914,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $104,382,000. Institutional investors own 92.59% of the company's stock.

Neurocrine Biosciences Company Profile

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for neurological, neuroendocrine and psychiatric disorders. The company develops therapies for conditions with significant unmet medical needs, using expertise in neuroscience and endocrine biology.

Its primary commercial 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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