Neurocrine Biosciences’ drug pipeline is reaching an inflection point and the company will soon “knock on the door of the large-cap club,” according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Mohit Bansal upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight and raised the price target to $170 from $140, implying about 21% upside potential from Tuesday’s closing price. Bansal predicted the company’s congenital adrenal hyperplasia treatment crinecerfont will achieve peak sales of $1.5 billion, surpassing his previous estimate of $1.1 billion. “Crinecerfont alone is enough to make a buy case,” Bansal wrote in a note on Tuesday. “We believe Crinecerfont (the opportunity) is undervalued as Wall Street only recognizes a peak opportunity of $500-700 million.” Elsewhere in the company’s pipeline, Neurocrine’s depression drug NBI-1065845, co-developed with Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda, showed positive results in a Phase II trial. Bansal said the drug could open a “whole new chapter” of a $1.2 billion peak sales opportunity. Bansal said the NBI-‘845 treatment could be “another blockbuster opportunity,” citing the treatment’s once-daily dosing format as a factor in his assessment. Competitive therapy is received twice daily, he said. By 2024, the stock will rise nearly 6%. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
