Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) by 76.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,613 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,902 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.27% of Neurocrine Biosciences worth $37,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NBIX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 336,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,343,000 after buying an additional 5,907 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth about $35,731,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. 92.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler raised Neurocrine Biosciences from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $131.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $142.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.20.

Neurocrine Biosciences Price Performance

NBIX opened at $118.35 on Friday. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.63 and a 1-year high of $157.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $138.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60 and a beta of 0.37.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $590.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $545.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Neurocrine Biosciences’s revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Neurocrine Biosciences

In related news, CFO Matt Abernethy sold 14,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.38, for a total transaction of $2,120,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,741,180.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Matt Abernethy sold 14,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.38, for a total transaction of $2,120,358.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,741,180.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary A. Lyons sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.03, for a total transaction of $139,527.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 119,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

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.