Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,782 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 70.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 20,782 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Biogen by 13,574.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,667,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $407,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648,024 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter valued at about $355,569,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 977.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,066,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,083,000 after purchasing an additional 967,523 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,128,807 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $325,537,000 after purchasing an additional 499,074 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Biogen by 982.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 539,692 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,914,000 after purchasing an additional 489,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Biogen

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total transaction of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BIIB. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Biogen from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus cut Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Biogen from $265.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Biogen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.30.

Biogen Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $123.16 on Wednesday. Biogen Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.04 and a 12-month high of $238.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.46 and a 200-day moving average of $143.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by ($0.24). Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.