Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 12,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of Biogen worth $117,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Biogen by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 757 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 76.1% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in Biogen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,763,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of BIIB opened at $217.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $212.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.44. The stock has a market cap of $31.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of -0.01. Biogen Inc. has a 1-year low of $189.44 and a 1-year high of $319.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $0.22. Biogen had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Biogen

In other news, Director Eric K. Rowinsky bought 455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $222.54 per share, for a total transaction of $101,255.70. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,590,777.66. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Biogen news, Director Eric K. Rowinsky bought 455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $222.54 per share, with a total value of $101,255.70. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,629 shares in the company, valued at $4,590,777.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Priya Singhal sold 262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.23, for a total transaction of $57,962.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,080,929.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 882 shares of company stock worth $202,030. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BIIB has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $364.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Biogen from $355.00 to $277.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Biogen from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.92.

Biogen 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.