Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Stock analysts at Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “peer perform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BIIB. StockNews.com raised Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.96.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ BIIB opened at $164.89 on Friday. Biogen has a 1 year low of $163.35 and a 1 year high of $268.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $187.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.07.

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

Insider Activity at Biogen

In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Biogen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Biogen in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Biogen by 123.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.