Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 611,119 shares of the company’s stock after selling 231,078 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences were worth $83,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,836,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,052,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Neurocrine Biosciences by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Neurocrine Biosciences by 99.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $162.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $154.00 to $148.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Neurocrine Biosciences

In other news, CFO Matt Abernethy sold 1,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.87, for a total value of $196,132.21. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,995,944.47. This represents a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin Charles Gorman sold 5,844 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.69, for a total value of $681,936.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 521,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,867,604.42. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 233,178 shares of company stock valued at $33,906,594. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Down 0.7 %

Neurocrine Biosciences stock opened at $113.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.94. The company has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.18 and a 52 week high of $157.98.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.62). Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 13.38%. Research analysts anticipate that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Neurocrine Biosciences declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 21st that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Neurocrine Biosciences 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.