Royal Bank of Canada Trims Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Target Price to $136.00

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $143.00 to $136.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NBIX. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $142.00 to $128.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Sunday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Neurocrine Biosciences presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

NASDAQ NBIX opened at $127.06 on Thursday. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 12 month low of $103.63 and a 12 month high of $157.98. The company has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $143.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.43.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.52). Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 16.00%. The business had revenue of $590.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Neurocrine Biosciences

In other news, CFO Matt Abernethy sold 14,100 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.38, for a total value of $2,120,358.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,741,180.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Matt Abernethy sold 14,100 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.38, for a total value of $2,120,358.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,741,180.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary A. Lyons sold 930 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.03, for a total transaction of $139,527.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 119,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,860,621.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,798 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,096 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,731,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 116,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,410,000 after acquiring an additional 18,070 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 3.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 252,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,834,000 after acquiring an additional 8,630 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 2,192.0% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 22,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 21,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,710,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,279,433,000 after acquiring an additional 150,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.