Neurocrine Biosciences ' drug pipeline is turning a corner and the company will be “knocking on the doors of the large-cap club” soon, according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Mohit Bansal upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight, and raised his price target to $170 from $140, suggesting around 21% upside potential from Tuesday's close. Bansal forecasts the company's congenital adrenal hyperplasia treatment, crinecerfont, will achieve $1.5 billion in peak sales, topping his prior $1.1 billion estimate. “Crinecerfont alone is enough to make for a buy case,” Bansal wrote in a Tuesday note. “We think [the] Crinecerfont [opportunity] is underappreciated as the Street is only giving credit for $500-$700M peak opportunity.” Elsewhere in the company's pipeline, 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 treatment's once-daily administration as a factor in his assessment. Competing therapies are taken twice a day, he said. Shares are up nearly 6% in 2024. The stock has rallied about 35% over the past 12 months. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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