Westpac Banking Corp Has $395,000 Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,585 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Biogen were worth $395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in Biogen by 58.5% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 10,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,113,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Biogen by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,646,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Biogen by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 51,530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,880,000 after purchasing an additional 3,698 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Biogen by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,216,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $183,461,000 after purchasing an additional 319,478 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 117,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,901,000 after purchasing an additional 38,283 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BIIB. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $300.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $138.00) on shares of Biogen in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Argus downgraded Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Biogen Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB opened at $122.98 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $140.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.77 and a 52-week high of $238.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Equities analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Biogen 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.