Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BIIB. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Biogen from $282.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $276.35.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ BIIB opened at $201.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of -0.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.71. Biogen has a 12-month low of $189.44 and a 12-month high of $269.43.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $1.28. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The company’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Biogen will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Biogen during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Biogen in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Biogen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

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.