Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Short Interest Up 9.9% in September

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,670,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the August 31st total of 3,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,316 shares in the company, valued at $1,085,633.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Biogen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,898,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Biogen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,387,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Biogen by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Biogen by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 4,670 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in Biogen by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,274 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 4,473 shares in the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Biogen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.30.

Biogen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $194.67. 709,807 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,108,004. Biogen has a fifty-two week low of $188.78 and a fifty-two week high of $269.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $28.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.95.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $1.28. Biogen had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Biogen 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.