Palo Alto Investors LP Grows Position in Biogen Inc. $BIIB

Key Points

• Palo Alto Investors LP raised its stake in Biogen by 7.8%, holding 204,923 shares now valued at approximately $28 million, making it the sixth largest position in their portfolio.
• Biogen's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with $5.47 earnings per share, significantly surpassing analysts' predictions of $3.93, and revenue reached $2.65 billion.
• Analysts are divided on Biogen's stock, with eleven rating it as a Buy and twenty-one as a Hold, averaging a target price of $185.74.

Palo Alto Investors LP grew its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,923 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,775 shares during the quarter. Biogen makes up approximately 5.3% of Palo Alto Investors LP's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Palo Alto Investors LP owned about 0.14% of Biogen worth $28,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 9,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 188 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Biogen in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Biogen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Biogen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Biogen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BIIB. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Biogen from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Biogen from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Biogen from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Biogen from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Biogen has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.74.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other Biogen news, insider Rachid Izzar sold 2,223 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 6,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $854,550. The trade was a 25.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Priya Singhal sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.55, for a total transaction of $69,045.35. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at $770,850.60. This represents a 8.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Biogen Stock Up 0.5%

BIIB traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $140.67. 1,561,848 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,622. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. Biogen Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.04 and a twelve month high of $204.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $132.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $1.54. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.28 earnings per share. Biogen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.500-16.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

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.