Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $334,000 Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 289 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,407,330 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,728,185,000 after buying an additional 2,218,744 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Biogen during the 4th quarter worth about $378,728,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 936.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 656,502 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $169,883,000 after purchasing an additional 593,158 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 977,308 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $252,898,000 after purchasing an additional 571,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 22.2% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,737,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $374,623,000 after buying an additional 316,144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

Shares of BIIB stock opened at $195.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Biogen Inc. has a 52 week low of $189.44 and a 52 week high of $269.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of -0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $210.52 and a 200 day moving average of $215.77.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $1.28. Biogen had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.02 earnings per share. Biogen’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BIIB. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Biogen from $316.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.