StockNews.com Lowers Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $150.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $129.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $152.00.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ NBIX traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $134.57. 2,188,316 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,831. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 0.36. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 12-month low of $93.02 and a 12-month high of $148.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.06 and a 200-day moving average of $135.05.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.62). Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The business had revenue of $515.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $512.21 million. On average, analysts expect that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric Benevich sold 19,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.36, for a total transaction of $2,642,928.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,438,154.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Eric Benevich sold 19,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.36, for a total transaction of $2,642,928.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 40,778 shares in the company, valued at $5,438,154.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 40,000 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total transaction of $5,338,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,537,223.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,697 shares of company stock valued at $11,975,615 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Neurocrine Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NBIX. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,607 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 9.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $276,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 134.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 192,844 shares of the company's stock worth $21,695,000 after buying an additional 110,624 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 205.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 28,591 shares of the company's stock worth $3,279,000 after acquiring an additional 19,238 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.