Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 70,368 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,748,875 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,368 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.49% of Biogen worth $2,561,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen during the 4th quarter valued at $14,126,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Biogen during the fourth quarter worth about $705,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Biogen by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 13,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Biogen by 217.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,472 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Biogen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $139.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $141.91 and a 200 day moving average of $160.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Biogen Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.51 and a 1-year high of $238.00.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In related news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,926.36. This represents a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on BIIB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Biogen in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Biogen from $298.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $192.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.33.

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.