Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, a decline of 24.8% from the July 15th total of 3,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BIIB. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $288.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush decreased their target price on Biogen from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.48.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIIB. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Biogen by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Biogen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Biogen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Biogen by 76.1% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Biogen during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

BIIB traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $201.91. 706,008 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,134,084. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $220.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.94. Biogen has a twelve month low of $189.44 and a twelve month high of $270.50. The firm has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of -0.04.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $1.28. Biogen had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Biogen will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.