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

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 6,024 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,807 call options.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB opened at $138.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.05. The stock has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of -0.08. Biogen has a 12 month low of $128.51 and a 12 month high of $238.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its 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 16.81%. As a group, analysts predict that Biogen will post 16.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Biogen

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIIB. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Biogen by 640.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIIB has been the subject of several research reports. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price target on shares of Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Biogen from $244.00 to $224.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.96.

Biogen Company Profile

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.