This Metric Says You Are Smart to Buy Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NBIX)

Is it smart to be bullish on Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)?

In the financial world, there are dozens of indicators investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as useful, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the world of equities. There are plenty of motivations for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Now that that’s out of the way, it’s important to discuss the newest info for Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX).

What does the smart money think about Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)?

Heading into Q3, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 19% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors had the most valuable position in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX), worth close to $68 million, comprising 6.9% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jacob Gottlieb of Visium Asset Management, with a $26.1 million position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital, Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors and Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital.

With a general bullishness amongst the titans, certain money managers were breaking ground themselves. Perceptive Advisors, managed by Joseph Edelman, initiated the biggest position in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX). Perceptive Advisors had 68 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management also initiated a $26.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new NBIX positions are Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital, Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors, and Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital.

Insider trading activity in Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX)

Insider buying made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX). These stocks are Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ICPT), Impax Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IPXL), and Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PCRX). This group of stocks belong to the drug manufacturers – major industry and their market caps are closest to NBIX’s market cap.

Using the results explained by our strategies, average investors must always track hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) is no exception.

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