Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Raised to “Hold” at Citigroup

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) was upgraded by Citigroup to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

BIIB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.96.

Biogen Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB traded down $4.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $160.20. The stock had a trading volume of 755,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,321. The company has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.77. Biogen has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $268.30.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.31. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.36 earnings per share. Biogen’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Biogen will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total value of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biogen

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Biogen by 82.8% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Biogen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Biogen in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Biogen by 123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

About Biogen

Biogen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases in the United States, Europe, Germany, Asia, and internationally. The company provides TECFIDERA, VUMERITY, AVONEX, PLEGRIDY, TYSABRI, and FAMPYRA for multiple sclerosis (MS); SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy; ADUHELM to treat Alzheimer’s disease; FUMADERM to treat plaque psoriasis; BENEPALI, an etanercept biosimilar referencing ENBREL; IMRALDI, an adalimumab biosimilar referencing HUMIRA; FLIXABI, an infliximab biosimilar referencing REMICADE; and BYOOVIZ, a ranibizumab biosimilar referencing LUCENTIS.