Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) received a generous price target hike to US$110 on Tuesday from Oppenheimer which called out the biotech’s rapid expansion on the back of new drug sales.
Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences were down slightly to US$79.93 on Tuesday amid a broader market pullback.
The San Diego biotech on Monday reported a loss of $41.8mln in its first quarter and said it had a loss of US$0.47.
The biotech handily beat 1Q revenue expectations with US$71mln of Ingrezza sales, ahead of the US$69mln Oppenheimer estimate.
“We are encouraged by the continued growth of Ingrezza TD and optimistic about the pipeline including elagolix, Ingrezza TS, opicapone and CAH. We reiterate our Outperform rating and $110 price target,” Oppenheimer analysts Jay Olson and Silvan Tuerkcan wrote in a note to clients.
Neurocrine had a positive start to 2018 with demand surging for its year-old Ingrezza drug used to treat people with facial twitches and uncontrollable body movements called tardive dyskinesia disease.
The analysts were bullish as Neuroscrine raised guidance to US$395mln to US$420mln from US$365 to US$395mln based on increased investment in the sales department and clinical studies.
While reporting earnings Neurocrine said it will expand its sales team by the fourth quarter. “We are impressed by management's commitment to investing in the business and support the decision to focus on expansion, which makes sense to us in a nascent market with enough room for two players to grow,” wrote the analysts.