Neurocrine Biosciences’ (NBIX) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $150.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $185.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 32.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $157.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $154.00 to $148.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.24.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock traded up $0.73 on Friday, hitting $113.39. 443,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,318,776. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 1-year low of $110.25 and a 1-year high of $157.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.59.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.62). Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.49%. Research analysts forecast that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Neurocrine Biosciences declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 21st that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Neurocrine Biosciences

In other Neurocrine Biosciences news, insider Julie Cooke sold 1,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.78, for a total value of $181,125.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,282,348.32. This trade represents a 7.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin Charles Gorman sold 2,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.92, for a total value of $413,954.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 517,030 shares in the company, valued at $79,064,227.60. This represents a 0.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 234,269 shares of company stock worth $34,053,879 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dodge & Cox grew its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,016,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,742,000 after buying an additional 1,728,605 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth about $115,193,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,457,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,939,000 after purchasing an additional 739,199 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 2,759.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 737,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,705,000 after buying an additional 711,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 210.4% in the 4th quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 938,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,053,000 after purchasing an additional 635,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

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.