Investors Buy Large Volume of Biogen Call Options (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 6,024 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical volume of 3,807 call options.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of BIIB stock traded down $5.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $133.67. 1,602,248 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,305,752. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of -0.08. Biogen has a fifty-two week low of $128.51 and a fifty-two week high of $238.00.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Biogen will post 16.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BIIB. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler downgraded Biogen from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Biogen from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Biogen from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.65.

Institutional Trading of Biogen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 521.7% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Biogen by 4,516.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,626 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Biogen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $100,000. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Biogen by 85.0% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 185,008 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,862,000 after purchasing an additional 84,981 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen during the third quarter worth about $227,000. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.