Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,166 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Biogen were worth $9,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Biogen by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,423,747,000 after buying an additional 248,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Biogen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,613,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $698,062,000 after buying an additional 47,055 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,648,024 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Biogen by 20.6% in the third quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,184,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $229,595,000 after buying an additional 202,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Biogen by 1.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,152,691 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,438,000 after purchasing an additional 18,905 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of BIIB stock opened at $143.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35. Biogen Inc. has a one year low of $128.51 and a one year high of $238.00. The firm has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of -0.08.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BIIB shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Biogen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Biogen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

Biogen 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.