Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) Stock

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $193.00 to $196.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Neurocrine Biosciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Neurocrine Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $200.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Neurocrine Biosciences from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Neurocrine Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.36.

Neurocrine Biosciences Stock Down 10.2%

NASDAQ:NBIX traded down $18.83 on Friday, hitting $166.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,737,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,191,972. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.25. The stock has a market cap of $16.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.39. Neurocrine Biosciences has a 52-week low of $122.14 and a 52-week high of $186.12.

Insider Activity at Neurocrine Biosciences

In other news, Director Leslie V. Norwalk sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.01, for a total transaction of $227,512.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,588 shares in the company, valued at $289,031.88. This trade represents a 44.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ingrid Delaet sold 4,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.02, for a total value of $790,514.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,225 shares in the company, valued at $2,937,049.50. This represents a 21.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 395,422 shares of company stock worth $62,448,693 in the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Neurocrine Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NBIX. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,263,633 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Neurocrine Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth about $162,664,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Neurocrine Biosciences by 169.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 959,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,367,000 after purchasing an additional 472,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Neurocrine Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Neurocrine Biosciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Neurocrine reported second-quarter revenue of $959 million, up 39% year over year and above analyst estimates of approximately $891 million. Adjusted earnings of $2.85 per share also exceeded consensus estimates. Neurocrine Biosciences Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: INGREZZA net product sales increased 15% to $716 million, while CRENESSITY generated $184 million and newly acquired VYKAT XR contributed $54 million. Neurocrine raised its 2026 INGREZZA sales outlook to $2.825 billion–$2.875 billion. Neurocrine Biosciences Q2 Revenue Rises 39%
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their price targets after the report, including Stifel, Guggenheim, Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald and Piper Sandler. Targets generally remain above the current trading level, reflecting continued confidence in Neurocrine’s commercial portfolio and pipeline.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Soleno Therapeutics acquisition was completed in May, expanding Neurocrine’s portfolio with VYKAT XR. However, the product contributed only part-quarter sales, leaving investors focused on how quickly the acquisition can add meaningful growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beating quarterly estimates, management did not deliver the broad-based guidance increase or major upside surprise that traders were seeking. The earnings update was therefore viewed as solid but insufficient to support higher expectations, contributing to the selloff.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider trading data shows substantial selling and no open-market purchases by insiders over the past six months. Director Leslie Norwalk’s latest sale involved 1,250 shares and was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, making it a secondary bearish signal rather than clear evidence of a change in business fundamentals. SEC Insider Filing

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.