Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Trims Stock Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 293,693 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 178,832 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.20% of Biogen worth $44,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BIIB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 13,574.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,667,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $407,919,000 after buying an additional 2,648,024 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter worth about $355,569,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 977.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,066,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,083,000 after purchasing an additional 967,523 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Biogen by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,216,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $183,461,000 after purchasing an additional 319,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,826,000. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Biogen Stock Down 1.4 %

Biogen stock opened at $138.37 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.70. Biogen Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.51 and a twelve month high of $238.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. 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 (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other Biogen news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $1,314,175.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BIIB. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Biogen from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Biogen from $298.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lowered their price objective on Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

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.