Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Lowers Stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Biogen were worth $4,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Biogen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Biogen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 73.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Biogen by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 231 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Biogen by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BIIB. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $156.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Biogen from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Biogen from $192.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

Biogen Stock Performance

BIIB stock opened at $143.46 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Biogen Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.51 and a 12-month high of $238.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of -0.08.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced 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 return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.