Magnetar Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Biogen Inc. $BIIB

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in Biogen Inc. by 311.2% in Q1, owning 7,719 shares worth approximately $1,056,000.
• Biogen reported a better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $5.47 EPS, surpassing estimates by $1.54, and an increase in revenue by 7.3% year-over-year.
• As of now, 87.93% of Biogen's stock is owned by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional support for the company.

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 311.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,719 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,842 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Biogen were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,343 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Biogen by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 391 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Biogen by 71.1% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 231 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Biogen by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 229 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas raised its position in shares of Biogen by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BIIB. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $187.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Biogen from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 517 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.55, for a total value of $69,045.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,772 shares in the company, valued at $770,850.60. This trade represents a 8.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rachid Izzar sold 2,223 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $300,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $854,550. This trade represents a 25.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of Biogen stock traded up $1.99 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $141.62. 2,279,248 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,559,622. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.63. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.04 and a 52-week high of $206.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Biogen 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.