Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NBIX. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $180.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $198.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $169.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Neurocrine Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $188.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.84.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

NBIX stock opened at $130.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $137.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.27. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 12 month low of $84.23 and a 12 month high of $160.18.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $805.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $804.21 million. Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Neurocrine Biosciences

In other Neurocrine Biosciences news, CEO Kyle Gano sold 36,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $4,830,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,632,008.90. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Morrow sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.37, for a total value of $2,150,550.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,013,339.16. The trade was a 67.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 61,966 shares of company stock worth $8,625,166 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NBIX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 59.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,261,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590,749 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,773,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,633 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,664,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 19,454.9% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 744,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,595,000 after buying an additional 740,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 169.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 983,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,494,000 after purchasing an additional 618,956 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

About Neurocrine Biosciences

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.