Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $165.24.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $162.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Neurocrine Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $172.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Neurocrine Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Neurocrine Biosciences Trading Down 1.9 %

Neurocrine Biosciences stock opened at $110.87 on Thursday. Neurocrine Biosciences has a twelve month low of $110.25 and a twelve month high of $157.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Neurocrine Biosciences announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 21st that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Neurocrine Biosciences

In related news, CEO Kyle Gano sold 65,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $9,197,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 135,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,157,968. This represents a 32.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ingrid Delaet sold 272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.10, for a total transaction of $37,563.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $346,216.70. The trade was a 9.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 234,269 shares of company stock valued at $34,053,879 over the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NBIX. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,836,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 16,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after buying 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 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.