Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Stake Boosted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank increased its stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Biogen were worth $5,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Biogen by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,407,330 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,728,185,000 after buying an additional 2,218,744 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 936.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 656,502 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,883,000 after purchasing an additional 593,158 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,737,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $374,623,000 after purchasing an additional 316,144 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 740,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $159,723,000 after purchasing an additional 207,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 1,227.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 176,262 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,007,000 after buying an additional 162,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $292.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.78.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $185.68 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.69 and a 200-day moving average of $212.83. The company has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of -0.06. Biogen Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.56 and a 52 week high of $269.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $1.28. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other Biogen 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 value of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% 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.