Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $285.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

BIIB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. William Blair reissued an outperform rating on shares of Biogen in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $276.35.

Biogen Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Biogen stock opened at $200.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.56. The stock has a market cap of $29.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of -0.06. Biogen has a 12-month low of $189.44 and a 12-month high of $269.43.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $1.28. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.02 earnings per share. Biogen’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Biogen will post 16.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biogen

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Biogen by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,407,330 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,728,185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218,744 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter worth about $378,728,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 936.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 656,502 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,883,000 after buying an additional 593,158 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Biogen by 141.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 977,308 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $252,898,000 after acquiring an additional 571,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Biogen by 22.2% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,737,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $374,623,000 after acquiring an additional 316,144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

About Biogen

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.