BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 11,902 Shares of Biogen Inc. $BIIB

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in Biogen Inc. by 3.1% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.25% of the company's shares valued at $50.11 million.
• Analysts have set a range of new price targets for Biogen, with most suggesting a Hold rating and an average target price of $185.74, despite varied ratings from firms like Wedbush and Mizuho.
• Biogen reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, achieving an EPS of $5.47—significantly exceeding analyst expectations—and a revenue of $2.65 billion, which is up 7.3% year-over-year.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 366,181 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 11,902 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.25% of Biogen worth $50,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 6.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 416,960 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $57,057,000 after purchasing an additional 25,464 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Biogen by 5.5% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 61,420 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,405,000 after acquiring an additional 3,194 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in Biogen by 64.7% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 6,809 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Biogen by 3.1% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,796 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in Biogen during the first quarter valued at $382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BIIB. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Biogen from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Biogen from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Biogen from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Biogen in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Biogen has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.74.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $141.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,279,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,470. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.63. Biogen Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.04 and a 52 week high of $206.50.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 15.31%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.28 earnings per share. Biogen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.500-16.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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.