Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Given "Outperform" Rating at Wedbush

Key Points

• Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) received an "outperform" rating from Wedbush, indicating strong performance expectations for the stock.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Neurocrine, with JPMorgan increasing it to $145, Morgan Stanley to $163, and Stifel Nicolaus to $174, showcasing positive investor sentiment.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.06, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 16.5% year-over-year revenue growth.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Wedbush in a report issued on Monday,RTT News reports.

NBIX has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $158.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $166.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $152.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.89.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NBIX stock traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $146.62. The company had a trading volume of 700,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,732. The company's fifty day moving average is $135.49 and its 200 day moving average is $122.43. Neurocrine Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $84.23 and a fifty-two week high of $154.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.28.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $687.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.09 million. Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Neurocrine Biosciences

In related news, insider Ingrid Delaet sold 457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $638,550. The trade was a 8.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin Charles Gorman sold 106,322 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $65,050,080.36. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 186,960 shares of company stock worth $23,955,553 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.6% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 5,566,814 shares of the company's stock worth $699,693,000 after purchasing an additional 32,190 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 59.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,261,747 shares of the company's stock worth $535,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590,749 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 44.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,097,981 shares of the company's stock worth $232,037,000 after purchasing an additional 640,556 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 3.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,539,601 shares of the company's stock worth $170,281,000 after purchasing an additional 49,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 40.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,510,015 shares of the company's stock worth $189,794,000 after purchasing an additional 435,385 shares in the last quarter. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Neurocrine Biosciences

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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