Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Lowered to “Equal Weight” Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $204.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $285.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Biogen from $316.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $234.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.83.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $174.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of -0.06. Biogen has a 1-year low of $173.88 and a 1-year high of $268.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.36 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Biogen will post 16.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Biogen

In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total value of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Biogen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arlington Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 34.3% in the third quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 19,214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 4,902 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Biogen in the first quarter worth approximately $1,290,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Biogen by 924.4% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 46,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,962,000 after acquiring an additional 41,690 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Biogen by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 386,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $83,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Biogen by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.