Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Short Interest Update

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) saw a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,070,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the September 30th total of 2,850,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BIIB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Biogen from $316.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Biogen from $234.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Biogen from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Biogen from $292.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.83.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $174.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.53. Biogen has a 12 month low of $173.88 and a 12 month high of $268.30.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.81%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Biogen will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biogen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 82.8% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 123.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 39.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 172 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

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.