Citigroup Initiates Coverage on Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $190.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

BIIB has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Biogen from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $302.00 price objective (down previously from $340.00) on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.96.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB opened at $159.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.38. The stock has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Biogen has a 12 month low of $159.60 and a 12 month high of $268.30.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Biogen will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Biogen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Biogen by 82.8% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Biogen by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

About Biogen

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.