Neurocrine Biosciences' drug portfolio is turning a corner, and the company will soon be “knocking on the doors of the large-cap club,” according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Mohit Bansal upgraded the stock from equal-weight to overweight and raised his price target to $170 from $140, suggesting upside potential of around 21% from Tuesday's close. Bansal forecasts that the company's congenital adrenal hyperplasia treatment, crinecerfont, will reach $1.5 billion in peak sales, surpassing its previous estimate of $1.1 billion. “Crinecerfont alone is enough to justify a purchase,” Bansal wrote in a Tuesday note. “We think [the] crinecerfont [opportunity] is underrated as the Street only provides credit for maximum opportunities of $500 to $700 million.” Elsewhere in the company's portfolio, Neurocrine's depression drug NBI-1065845, developed in conjunction with Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda , showed positive results during a Phase II trial. Bansal said this drug could open “a whole new chapter” of a $1.2 billion peak sales opportunity The NBI-'845 treatment could be “another blockbuster opportunity.” , Bansal said, citing the once-daily administration of the treatment as a factor in his assessment. Competing therapies are taken twice a day, he said. Shares are up nearly 6% in 2024. % in the last 12 months: CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
