Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 655,115 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 1,184,213 shares.The stock last traded at $156.62 and had previously closed at $156.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BIIB shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Biogen from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Biogen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Biogen in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.80.

Biogen Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.92. The firm has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.36 EPS. Biogen’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 16.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Biogen by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 16,338,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,787,543,000 after buying an additional 117,578 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Biogen by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,423,747,000 after buying an additional 248,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Biogen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,613,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $698,062,000 after acquiring an additional 47,055 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,184,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $229,595,000 after purchasing an additional 202,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,152,691 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,438,000 after purchasing an additional 18,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.