Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Raised to Hold at Citigroup

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $292.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Biogen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.96.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB traded down $4.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $160.20. The stock had a trading volume of 755,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,321. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $186.80 and a 200-day moving average of $207.77. The firm has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Biogen has a fifty-two week low of $160.07 and a fifty-two week high of $268.30.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period 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. Equities research analysts predict that Biogen will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,085,633.52. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biogen

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Biogen by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,570,398 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,573,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 19,722.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 358,992 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $695,870,000 after acquiring an additional 357,181 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 2,715.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 316,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,253,000 after acquiring an additional 304,778 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Biogen in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,826,000. Finally, RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Biogen by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 740,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $159,723,000 after purchasing an additional 207,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Company Profile

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.