Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 4,241 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,311 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,241 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Biogen were worth $2,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BIIB. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in Biogen by 1,663.4% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 780,567 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $106,813,000 after buying an additional 736,301 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,128,807 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $325,537,000 after purchasing an additional 499,074 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 982.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 539,692 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,914,000 after purchasing an additional 489,811 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,169,570 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $178,851,000 after purchasing an additional 455,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen in the first quarter valued at about $54,421,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $129.34 on Thursday. Biogen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.13.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $1.54. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rachid Izzar sold 2,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $300,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $854,550. This represents a 25.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BIIB shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Biogen from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Biogen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $207.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.63.

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.

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