Neurocrine Biosciences’ (NBIX) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $175.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $173.00.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on NBIX. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $170.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $146.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.20.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

NBIX opened at $135.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.73. Neurocrine Biosciences has a one year low of $84.23 and a one year high of $160.18.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.59. Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 15.95%.The firm had revenue of $794.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leslie V. Norwalk sold 1,190 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.09, for a total transaction of $184,557.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,606.51. The trade was a 16.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Morrow sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.37, for a total value of $2,150,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,013,339.16. This trade represents a 67.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,866 shares of company stock worth $6,570,237. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NBIX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 15.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 447,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,331,000 after purchasing an additional 60,094 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 10.8% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,640,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 125,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,732,000 after buying an additional 58,562 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 15.9% in the second quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 203,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,594,000 after acquiring an additional 27,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saturn V Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Neurocrine Biosciences during the second quarter worth about $7,313,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

Neurocrine Biosciences Company Profile

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.