Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Short Interest Update

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,550,000 shares, an increase of 33.5% from the March 15th total of 2,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.45, for a total value of $100,329.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,356.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.45, for a total value of $100,329.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,356.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eric K. Rowinsky bought 455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $222.54 per share, for a total transaction of $101,255.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,590,777.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 882 shares of company stock valued at $202,030 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Biogen

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Biogen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Biogen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Biogen in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Biogen in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Biogen by 76.1% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of Biogen stock opened at $198.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $28.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of -0.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.74. Biogen has a 1-year low of $197.78 and a 1-year high of $319.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The biotechnology company reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.05 EPS. Analysts predict that Biogen will post 15.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Biogen from $355.00 to $277.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank Of America (Bofa) dropped their target price on Biogen from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Biogen from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Biogen from $305.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $364.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.96.

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.