Magnetar Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,877 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 717 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Biogen were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 52,157 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,976,000 after buying an additional 12,765 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at about $410,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Biogen by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,576 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 181.2% in the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 44,266 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,769,000 after purchasing an additional 28,524 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Biogen news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction on 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 $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB opened at $140.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.81. 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.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Equities research analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Biogen from $156.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Biogen from $244.00 to $224.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Biogen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

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.