Legal & General Group Plc Sells 281,499 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,230,007 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 281,499 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.84% of Biogen worth $188,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BIIB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Biogen by 13,574.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,667,531 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $407,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648,024 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter worth $355,569,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Biogen by 977.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,066,460 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $163,083,000 after acquiring an additional 967,523 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Biogen by 30.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 376,356 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other Biogen news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63 % 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $117.59. 293,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,640,495. Biogen Inc. has a one year low of $110.04 and a one year high of $238.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $136.21 and its 200 day moving average is $153.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.06.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. On average, research analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on BIIB shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $138.00) on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank Of America (Bofa) reduced their price objective on Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Biogen from $244.00 to $224.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Biogen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $213.15.

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.