Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, a decline of 22.3% from the September 15th total of 3,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BIIB shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Biogen from $316.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Biogen from $335.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.78.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB traded up $1.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.92. 359,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,119,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Biogen has a 1 year low of $181.31 and a 1 year high of $269.43. The company has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of -0.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $198.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.53.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $1.28. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Biogen will post 16.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total value of $88,018.82. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,085,633.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Biogen by 936.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 656,502 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $169,883,000 after buying an additional 593,158 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Biogen by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $847,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Biogen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Biogen by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 19,145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,954,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.