Zacks Research Downgrades Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) to Strong Sell

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $169.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho raised their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $146.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $180.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $177.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Neurocrine Biosciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.84.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NBIX stock traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $128.20. 72,891 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,224,120. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.43 and a 200 day moving average of $140.34. The stock has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.31. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 12 month low of $84.23 and a 12 month high of $160.18.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.48). Neurocrine Biosciences had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 16.73%.The business had revenue of $805.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $804.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Neurocrine Biosciences will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leslie V. Norwalk sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.23, for a total transaction of $761,150.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,130,916.67. The trade was a 40.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George J. Morrow sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,013,339.16. This represents a 67.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 61,966 shares of company stock valued at $8,625,166 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Neurocrine Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 3,287 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 40,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,809,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Neurocrine Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $418,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,844,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 326.3% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 9,013 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.