Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,221 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,627 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $5,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Biogen by 640.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Biogen during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 73.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Biogen in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIIB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Biogen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Biogen from $251.00 to $207.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $250.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lowered their price objective on Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. This represents a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Price Performance

Biogen stock opened at $140.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.20. Biogen Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.51 and a 12 month high of $238.00. The company has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

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.