National Pension Service Acquires 6,375 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

National Pension Service grew its stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,317 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,375 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Biogen worth $78,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 35,989 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,313,000 after buying an additional 4,693 shares in the last quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC raised its position in Biogen by 52.9% in the third quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 96,115 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,703,000 after purchasing an additional 33,238 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 35.2% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,071 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,145 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Biogen by 13.8% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 68,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,577,000 after purchasing an additional 8,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Biogen Stock Up 1.0 %

Biogen stock traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $221.92. 232,787 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,191,193. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $189.44 and a 52-week high of $319.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of -0.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $211.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BIIB. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $311.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Biogen from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Biogen from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on Biogen from $339.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $57,962.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,080,929.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 262 shares of Biogen 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,080,929.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric K. Rowinsky bought 455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $222.54 per share, with a total value of $101,255.70. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,590,777.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 882 shares of company stock worth $202,030 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.