Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Shares Down 2.3%

Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) were down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $192.25 and last traded at $193.29. Approximately 211,877 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,090,489 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BIIB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $302.00 price target (down from $340.00) on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Biogen from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.52.

Biogen Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $211.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.96. The firm has a market cap of $28.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Insider Activity at Biogen

In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total value of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Biogen

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Biogen by 15.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,570,398 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,573,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163,068 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Biogen by 0.7% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 16,338,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,787,543,000 after acquiring an additional 117,578 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Biogen by 5.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,589,629 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $342,772,000 after acquiring an additional 81,283 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter worth $378,728,000. 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.