Norges Bank Buys New Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,325,199 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,569,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.60% of Biogen at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $407,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648,024 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Biogen by 977.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,066,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,083,000 after purchasing an additional 967,523 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,216,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $183,461,000 after buying an additional 319,478 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Biogen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,826,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,423,747,000 after buying an additional 248,942 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of Biogen stock opened at $138.37 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $141.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.97. The company has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. 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.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. On average, research analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.