Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Short Interest Update

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the target of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a decline of 13.5% from the October 31st total of 3,120,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Biogen by 19,722.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 358,992 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $695,870,000 after acquiring an additional 357,181 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Biogen by 2,715.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 316,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,253,000 after buying an additional 304,778 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Biogen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,826,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Biogen by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,423,747,000 after acquiring an additional 248,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 122.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 427,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $82,886,000 after purchasing an additional 235,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of BIIB traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $160.63. 1,109,608 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,185,000. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.86 and a 200 day moving average of $202.76. Biogen has a one year low of $153.62 and a one year high of $268.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of -0.06.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Biogen will post 16.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BIIB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on Biogen in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Biogen from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Biogen from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $234.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.20.

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.