Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 266,598 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 30.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 618,106 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 266,598 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Biogen were worth $143,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Biogen by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Biogen during the first quarter worth $27,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Biogen in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Biogen by 123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Biogen

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total value of $88,018.82. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Biogen from $335.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $302.00 price objective (down previously from $340.00) on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Biogen from $282.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.52.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of BIIB stock opened at $195.63 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $210.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.67. Biogen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $189.44 and a fifty-two week high of $269.43. The firm has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $1.28. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. Biogen’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 16.12 earnings per share 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.