Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Grows Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 214.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 461,120 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 314,669 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned 0.32% of Biogen worth $70,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Biogen by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,460 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,646,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Biogen by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,216,990 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $183,461,000 after buying an additional 319,478 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in Biogen during the fourth quarter worth $407,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Biogen by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,221 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,692,000 after buying an additional 5,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Biogen by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 15,148 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,316,000 after buying an additional 7,970 shares in the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Biogen news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $1,314,175.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BIIB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price target on Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Biogen from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Biogen from $156.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on Biogen from $241.00 to $187.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $191.30.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ BIIB traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.81. The company had a trading volume of 837,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,394,266. Biogen Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.04 and a 52 week high of $238.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.12.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.26 by ($0.24). Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.