Neurocrine Biosciences’ (NBIX) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $185.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NBIX. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up from $173.00) on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $198.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $180.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.70.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NBIX opened at $133.15 on Monday. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 52 week low of $84.23 and a 52 week high of $160.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.43 and a 200-day moving average of $138.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Neurocrine Biosciences

In other news, CEO Kyle Gano sold 36,400 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $4,830,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,632,008.90. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NBIX. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,773,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,633 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth about $162,664,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 169.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 983,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,494,000 after acquiring an additional 618,956 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,730,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,019,000 after acquiring an additional 468,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,162,000. 92.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Neurocrine Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Neurocrine Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition — Neurocrine agreed to buy Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9 billion, adding Vykat XR (a treatment for a rare metabolic disorder) and diversifying Neurocrine’s endocrinology/rare-disease portfolio; investors see this as near-term revenue and pipeline upside. GEN: Neurocrine grows with Soleno buyout
• Positive Sentiment: Deal details/valuation impact — Coverage notes the Soleno deal adds Vykat XR and alters Neurocrine’s valuation story by bringing a commercial asset that shortens time to value. Yahoo: Soleno deal adds Vykat XR
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Multiple firms raised price targets and maintained Buy/outperform ratings (Needham reaffirmed Buy), signaling increased analyst conviction that management’s M&A and execution justify higher valuations. Needham reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Broker upgrades — Citi raised its target sharply to $242, HC Wainwright, Canaccord, Wedbush and others lifted targets or reiterated Buys, boosting consensus upside and likely supporting the rally. Benzinga: multiple price-target raises
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation discussion — Coverage highlights that long-term returns have outpaced a richer earnings multiple; investors should weigh growth from the Soleno acquisition against an elevated valuation. Yahoo: assessing NBIX valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/launch prioritization — Soleno withdrew its EU marketing application ahead of the takeover as Neurocrine prioritizes a U.S. launch; this focuses resources on the larger U.S. commercial opportunity but delays/forgoes near-term EU upside. Reuters: Soleno withdraws EU application Economic Times: EU withdrawal
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term pipeline lull risk — Analysts note the acquisition helps diversify growth but flag a near-term pipeline lull and integration/launch execution risk, which could pressure the stock if commercial uptake or synergies are slower than expected. TipRanks: acquisition offsets near-term lull

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.