Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Trims Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 35.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,691 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 15,005 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Biogen were worth $5,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIIB. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Biogen in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Biogen by 249.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 178 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Biogen by 39.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 172 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIIB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Biogen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Biogen from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush cut their price objective on Biogen from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Biogen from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.20.

Biogen Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ BIIB opened at $160.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 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 0.80. Biogen Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.62 and a 12 month high of $268.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $177.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.15.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 16.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. This represents a 7.50 % 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% 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.