Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Price Target Raised to $194.00 at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush raised Neurocrine Biosciences’ price target to $194 from $185 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 16.31% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $200.45; several firms recently raised their targets.
• NBIX shares opened at $166.80, while insiders have sold roughly $62.4 million of stock over the past three months. Institutional investors hold 92.59% of the company.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Wedbush from $185.00 to $194.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wedbush's price objective points to a potential upside of 16.31% from the company's previous close.

NBIX has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Neurocrine Biosciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.45.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NBIX opened at $166.80 on Monday. Neurocrine Biosciences 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 $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $167.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leslie V. Norwalk sold 1,250 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.01, for a total transaction of $227,512.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,588 shares in the company, valued at $289,031.88. The trade was a 44.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Darin Lippoldt sold 10,000 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.60, for a total value of $1,796,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 54,729 shares in the company, valued at $9,829,328.40. The trade was a 15.45% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 395,422 shares of company stock valued at $62,448,693. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Neurocrine Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NBIX. Royal Bank of Canada grew 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 valued at $9,158,000 after acquiring an additional 22,224 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 60.6% in 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 during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 56.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Neurocrine Biosciences during the first quarter valued at $1,333,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 143.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 229 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 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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