First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stake in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) by 46.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,197 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 584,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,761,000 after acquiring an additional 319,564 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 73.0% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 649,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,045,000 after purchasing an additional 273,952 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 59.0% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 692,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,892,000 after purchasing an additional 256,920 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 409,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,066,000 after purchasing an additional 189,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 410,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,660 shares during the last quarter. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Up 0.7 %

Neurocrine Biosciences stock opened at $141.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.49 and its 200 day moving average is $129.22. The company has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04 and a beta of 0.28. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.04 and a twelve month high of $148.37.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $515.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $518.52 million. Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 18.65%. The company’s revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 4.78 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $129.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard F. Pops sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.47, for a total value of $1,987,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,909,454.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Neurocrine Biosciences news, CEO Kevin Charles Gorman sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.15, for a total transaction of $305,057.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 506,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,008,952.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard F. Pops sold 15,000 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.47, for a total transaction of $1,987,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,909,454.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,771 shares of company stock valued at $24,360,922. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

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.