Guggenheim Initiates Coverage on Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX)

Equities research analysts at Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $207.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 44.28% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on NBIX. Mizuho upgraded Neurocrine Biosciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $231.00 to $214.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $249.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.05.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

Neurocrine Biosciences stock opened at $143.47 on Tuesday. Neurocrine Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $122.14 and a fifty-two week high of $186.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.16. The stock has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.40.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last announced its earnings results 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. Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 22.43% and a net margin of 20.91%.The firm had revenue of $959.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $891.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David W. Boyer sold 826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.45, for a total transaction of $130,053.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,373,278.90. This represents a 8.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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. Also, Director Leslie Norwalk sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.01, for a total value of $227,512.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,588 shares in the company, valued at $289,031.88. This trade represents a 44.05% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,754 shares of company stock valued at $1,511,370. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co grew its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 7.7% in the first quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Neurocrine Biosciences Company Profile

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for neurological, neuroendocrine and related disorders. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and conducts research through internal programs and collaborations with academic institutions and other pharmaceutical companies.

Neurocrine’s principal commercial product is INGREZZA (valbenazine), a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor used to treat tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington’s disease.