Hsbc Global Res Downgrades Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) to Hold

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BIIB. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $157.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus cut shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.93.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of Biogen stock opened at $120.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.18. Biogen has a fifty-two week low of $110.04 and a fifty-two week high of $238.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.06.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Biogen will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biogen

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BIIB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Biogen by 13,574.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,667,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $407,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648,024 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Biogen in the 4th quarter valued at about $355,569,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Biogen by 977.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,066,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,083,000 after acquiring an additional 967,523 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Biogen by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,128,807 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $325,537,000 after acquiring an additional 499,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 982.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 539,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,914,000 after acquiring an additional 489,811 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is currently 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.