Natixis Cuts Stock Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Natixis lessened its stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB - Free Report) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 88,057 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Biogen were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in Biogen by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 10,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Biogen by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,460 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,646,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Biogen by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,216,990 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $183,461,000 after buying an additional 319,478 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Biogen by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 51,530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,880,000 after buying an additional 3,698 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at $407,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company's stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

NASDAQ BIIB traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $118.84. 1,538,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,353,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business's fifty day moving average is $132.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.83. Biogen Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.04 and a 12 month high of $238.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.06.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. This represents a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BIIB shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Biogen from $156.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 target price (down previously from $138.00) on shares of Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Biogen from $298.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Biogen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.37.

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.