Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Receives Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $300.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective points to a potential upside of 70.30% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $316.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Biogen from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Biogen from $234.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Biogen from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.39.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB traded down $5.02 on Thursday, reaching $176.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 192,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,209. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.77. Biogen has a 52-week low of $176.02 and a 52-week high of $268.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of -0.06.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its earnings results 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. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. 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 prior year, the business posted $4.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Biogen will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIIB. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Biogen by 82.8% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Biogen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Biogen by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Biogen during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Biogen by 39.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 172 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 49 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.