Fifth Third Bancorp Reduces Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB – Get Rating) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,284 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,843 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Biogen were worth $2,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen during the third quarter worth about $7,502,000. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 9.4% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,244,986 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $352,319,000 after purchasing an additional 106,513 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 49.2% during the third quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 22,262 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,300,000 after purchasing an additional 7,338 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 372.2% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 13,742 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 10,832 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 105.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 913,972 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $262,000,000 after purchasing an additional 468,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.10% of the company’s stock.

Shares of BIIB opened at $214.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.83. Biogen Inc. has a one year low of $192.67 and a one year high of $468.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $210.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.88.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 26.30% and a net margin of 14.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.58 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.52 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BIIB shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Biogen from $244.00 to $235.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Biogen from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 28th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Biogen from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised Biogen from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $227.00 to $248.00 in a report on Thursday, March 3rd. Finally, SVB Leerink decreased their price target on Biogen from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 24th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Biogen presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.28.

About Biogen (Get Rating)

Biogen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. The company offers TECFIDERA, VUMERITY, AVONEX, PLEGRIDY, TYSABRI, and FAMPYRA for multiple sclerosis (MS); SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy; and FUMADERM to treat plaque psoriasis.

Read More