Morgan Stanley Raises Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Price Target to $185.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Neurocrine to $185 (from $173) while keeping an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 42.38% upside from the stock's current level.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" (1 Strong Buy, 16 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average target of $181.20, reflecting mixed but generally favorable broker sentiment.
• Recent results showed an EPS miss ($1.88 vs. $2.36 expected) but revenue rose 28.3% to $805.5M; shares traded near $129.94 with a market cap of about $13.0B.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 42.38% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NBIX. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $188.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $146.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.20.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $129.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 157,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,826. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 52 week low of $88.35 and a 52 week high of $160.18. The stock has a market cap of $13.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.81.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.48). Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 16.73%.The business had revenue of $805.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $804.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Gano sold 36,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $4,830,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,632,008.90. This represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NBIX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 82,810 shares of the company's stock worth $9,158,000 after purchasing an additional 22,224 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,783 shares of the company's stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 5,577 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the 1st quarter worth about $1,333,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 143.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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