Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,020,000 shares, a decrease of 13.2% from the May 15th total of 3,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIIB has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $311.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho cut their price target on Biogen from $355.00 to $277.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $317.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.50.

Biogen Trading Down 0.9 %

Biogen stock traded down $2.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $231.69. The stock had a trading volume of 747,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,791. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.34. Biogen has a twelve month low of $189.44 and a twelve month high of $304.79.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Biogen will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Biogen by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Biogen in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Biogen during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Biogen by 105.1% during the 3rd quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.