The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 6,596 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 5.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,829 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,596 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Biogen were worth $29,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BIIB. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Biogen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 82.8% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Biogen during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Biogen during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Biogen by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Biogen from $275.00 to $244.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Biogen from $277.00 to $251.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Biogen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the company’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 transaction of $88,018.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,085,633.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Biogen Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BIIB opened at $193.84 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $203.47 and a 200 day moving average of $213.68. The company has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of -0.06. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.78 and a 52-week high of $269.43.

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