566,590 Biogen Inc. $BIIB Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its Biogen stake by 570.6% in the third quarter, buying 566,590 shares. It now holds 665,893 shares valued at about $150.4 million, its sixth-largest portfolio position.
• Biogen reported quarterly earnings of $2.62 per share, beating the $1.99 consensus estimate, and revenue of $2.80 billion, above expectations. Revenue rose 10.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: Biogen had a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $254.41, with recent targets ranging as high as $310.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 570.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 665,893 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 566,590 shares during the period. Biogen comprises 1.7% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.45% of Biogen worth $150,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BIIB. Align Financial LLC raised its holdings in Biogen by 339.3% in the third quarter. Align Financial LLC now owns 123 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Biogen during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its position in shares of Biogen by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 173 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB opened at $253.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $231.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.85. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.20 and a 52-week high of $261.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.10.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The biotechnology company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 3.37%. Biogen's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 12.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BIIB shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Biogen from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Biogen from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Biogen from $248.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Biogen currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.41.

About Biogen

Biogen is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for neurological and rare diseases. Its areas of focus include multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, spinal muscular atrophy and Friedreich's ataxia. Its products include multiple sclerosis treatments such as Tysabri, Tecfidera and Vumerity, and Skyclarys for Friedreich's ataxia. Biogen shares rights to several medicines with other companies, including Leqembi for Alzheimer's disease with Eisai and Spinraza for spinal muscular atrophy with Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

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