KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Grows Stock Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 69.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 156,077 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 63,700 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.11% of Biogen worth $21,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BIIB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,748,875 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,561,238,000 after acquiring an additional 70,368 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Biogen by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,695,476 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $563,709,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Biogen in the fourth quarter valued at about $355,569,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 499,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Biogen by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,933,716 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $295,705,000 after purchasing an additional 21,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Biogen

In other news, insider Rachid Izzar sold 2,223 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $300,105.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BIIB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC cut Biogen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Biogen from $265.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer set a $205.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Biogen and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.37.

Biogen Trading Down 0.8%

BIIB stock traded down $1.07 on Friday, hitting $131.52. 976,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,173,055. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.14. Biogen Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.04 and a twelve month high of $219.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $129.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.38.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.26 by ($0.24). Biogen had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 15.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.