Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 672 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $9,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BIIB. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Biogen by 16.3% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Biogen during the third quarter valued at about $1,427,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Biogen by 11.4% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Biogen by 2.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,696 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Biogen by 29.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 711,184 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,856,000 after purchasing an additional 162,511 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In related news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BIIB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $298.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.33.

Biogen Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Biogen stock opened at $140.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.51 and a 52-week high of $238.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.11.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Equities research analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

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.