Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Stock Price

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $192.00 to $157.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.71% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BIIB. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on Biogen from $300.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.63.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of Biogen stock traded up $3.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $136.87. 870,742 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,385. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.05. Biogen has a 12 month low of $128.51 and a 12 month high of $238.00.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Biogen will post 16.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 5.2% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its position in Biogen by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 710 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Biogen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Biogen by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Biogen by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 385 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 77 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.