Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Argus

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

BIIB has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.33.

Biogen Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Biogen stock opened at $130.71 on Friday. Biogen has a twelve month low of $127.50 and a twelve month high of $238.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $141.14 and its 200 day moving average is $158.43. The company has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. Research analysts anticipate that Biogen will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 13,574.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,667,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $407,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648,024 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Biogen in the fourth quarter worth about $355,569,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 977.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,066,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,083,000 after buying an additional 967,523 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,128,807 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $325,537,000 after buying an additional 499,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 982.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 539,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,914,000 after buying an additional 489,811 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.