Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. reduced its position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 55.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,176 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BIIB. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 270.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,461,000 after purchasing an additional 17,195 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Biogen by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,274 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Biogen by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Biogen in the 2nd quarter worth $1,387,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Biogen in the second quarter valued at about $9,898,000. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIIB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut Biogen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.80.

Biogen Trading Up 1.3 %

Biogen stock opened at $146.23 on Friday. Biogen Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.71 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of -0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.32 and a 200 day moving average of $179.80. 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 (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 16.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.