Biogen Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 6,024 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 58% compared to the average daily volume of 3,807 call options.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB traded down $5.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.67. 1,602,248 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,305,752. 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 company has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of -0.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.33. Biogen has a 1 year low of $128.51 and a 1 year high of $238.00.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued 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 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that Biogen will post 16.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BIIB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Biogen from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut Biogen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their price objective on shares of Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its position in Biogen by 5.2% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 9.7% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 710 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Biogen by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Biogen by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Biogen by 25.0% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 385 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.