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

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,680,000 shares, a growth of 42.6% from the December 15th total of 2,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Biogen from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Biogen from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Biogen from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Biogen from $292.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.00.

Institutional Trading of Biogen

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BIIB. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Biogen by 0.7% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 16,338,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,787,543,000 after purchasing an additional 117,578 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Biogen by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,423,747,000 after purchasing an additional 248,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,613,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $698,062,000 after buying an additional 47,055 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Biogen by 20.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Biogen by 1.7% during 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 buying an additional 18,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

BIIB traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $141.00. 1,533,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,198,224. The company’s 50-day moving average is $156.24 and its 200 day moving average is $186.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of -0.07. Biogen has a 52 week low of $140.87 and a 52 week high of $252.17.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. Biogen had a net margin of 16.81% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Biogen will post 16.43 EPS for the current year.

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.