Man Group plc Sells 170,285 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Man Group plc lessened its stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 686,550 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 170,285 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.47% of Biogen worth $104,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Biogen by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,748,875 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,561,238,000 after buying an additional 70,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Biogen by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,695,476 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $563,709,000 after buying an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Biogen by 13,574.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,667,531 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $407,919,000 after buying an additional 2,648,024 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Biogen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,569,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased 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 buying an additional 499,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BIIB shares. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of Biogen from $241.00 to $187.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Biogen in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $219.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hsbc Global Res cut Biogen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Biogen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $118.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $191.30.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Biogen Stock Performance

Biogen stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $125.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,803,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,048. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Biogen Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.04 and a 52 week high of $238.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.96 and a 200-day moving average of $142.58. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.12.

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

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.