Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 283,964 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Biogen Inc. by 1.7% in Q1, acquiring an additional 283,964 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 11.62% valued at $2.33 billion.
• Biogen reported Q2 earnings of $5.47 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.93, with revenue of $2.65 billion against forecasts of $2.32 billion.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 2,223 shares by Rachid Izzar at an average price of $135, which represented a 25.99% decrease in their position.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,032,839 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 283,964 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.62% of Biogen worth $2,330,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BIIB. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Biogen by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 669 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Biogen by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 757,570 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $115,848,000 after buying an additional 376,356 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Biogen by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,091 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,520,000 after buying an additional 14,306 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 20,552 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 346.1% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 105,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $15,572,000 after acquiring an additional 81,811 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Biogen Stock Up 2.3%

BIIB stock opened at $130.67 on Friday. Biogen Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.04 and a twelve month high of $207.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.13. The business's 50-day moving average price is $129.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.46.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $5.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $1.54. Biogen had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other news, insider Rachid Izzar sold 2,223 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $300,105.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $854,550. The trade was a 25.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Biogen from $207.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Biogen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Biogen from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Biogen from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded 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. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.63.

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.

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