Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) Downgraded by BMO Capital Markets to “Market Perform”

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $164.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $230.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BIIB. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Biogen from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered Biogen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.68.

Biogen Stock Performance

Biogen stock opened at $146.47 on Friday. Biogen has a fifty-two week low of $145.07 and a fifty-two week high of $268.30. The stock has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of -0.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Biogen will post 16.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Biogen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 19,722.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 358,992 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $695,870,000 after buying an additional 357,181 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Biogen by 2,715.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 316,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,253,000 after acquiring an additional 304,778 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Biogen during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,826,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,344,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,423,747,000 after purchasing an additional 248,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 122.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 427,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $82,886,000 after purchasing an additional 235,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% 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.