Legal & General Group Plc Invests $53 Million in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. $NBIX

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 314,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,996,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NBIX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Neurocrine Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $2,310,886,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,271,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,652,000 after buying an additional 498,058 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 8.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,418,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,665,000 after buying an additional 180,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,059,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,342,000 after acquiring an additional 34,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,291,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,248,000 after acquiring an additional 88,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NBIX stock opened at $154.06 on Friday. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.14 and a 52-week high of $186.12. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.43.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $959.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $891.16 million. Neurocrine Biosciences had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 22.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Neurocrine Biosciences from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wedbush increased their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Neurocrine Biosciences from $188.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Neurocrine Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Neurocrine Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Julie Cooke sold 36,937 shares of Neurocrine Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $5,770,298.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,495,266.28. The trade was a 62.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total value of $4,133,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,621,975.20. This represents a 61.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 114,375 shares of company stock worth $18,994,756 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Neurocrine Biosciences Profile

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.