Cerity Partners LLC Buys 18,277 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 82.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,368 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,277 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Biogen were worth $5,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Biogen in the fourth quarter valued at $355,569,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Biogen by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,128,807 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $325,537,000 after acquiring an additional 499,074 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Biogen by 982.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 539,692 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,914,000 after acquiring an additional 489,811 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Biogen by 63.7% during 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, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Biogen by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,533,813 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $234,551,000 after purchasing an additional 381,122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Biogen Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB traded down $3.70 on Friday, hitting $124.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,815. Biogen Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.04 and a 1 year high of $236.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $129.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.14.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 14.03% and a net margin of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BIIB. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Biogen from $207.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Biogen from $157.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Biogen from $265.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $187.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $188.48.

Insider Activity at Biogen

In other Biogen news, insider Rachid Izzar sold 2,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 6,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $854,550. This represents a 25.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.