Citigroup Upgrades Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) to Hold

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $302.00 target price (down from $340.00) on shares of Biogen in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Biogen from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.72.

Biogen Stock Performance

NASDAQ BIIB opened at $164.89 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $187.54 and its 200-day moving average is $208.07. Biogen has a 12-month low of $163.35 and a 12-month high of $268.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of -0.06.

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

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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