Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Rating Increased to Hold at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.96.

Biogen Stock Performance

BIIB traded down $4.90 on Wednesday, hitting $159.99. 1,909,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,169,516. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Biogen has a 52 week low of $159.60 and a 52 week high of $268.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of -0.06.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.81%. Biogen's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Biogen will post 16.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Biogen

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,085,633.52. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Biogen by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 168,631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,687,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 19,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 4,902 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 235.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,860 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,204,000 after buying an additional 10,425 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Biogen during the first quarter worth $1,856,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Biogen by 10.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 359,569 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $69,699,000 after acquiring an additional 32,914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company's stock.

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.