Natixis Advisors L.P. Increases Stock Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,166 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $6,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Biogen by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 46,830 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,769,000 after acquiring an additional 4,209 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Biogen by 3.1% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its position in Biogen by 2.6% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Biogen in the 3rd quarter worth $728,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 281,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,227,000 after buying an additional 64,844 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BIIB shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Biogen from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered Biogen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Biogen from $213.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their target price on Biogen from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Biogen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eric K. Rowinsky acquired 455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $222.54 per share, with a total value of $101,255.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,590,777.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Eric K. Rowinsky bought 455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $222.54 per share, with a total value of $101,255.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,590,777.66. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Priya Singhal sold 419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.45, for a total transaction of $100,329.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,081,356.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 882 shares of company stock valued at $202,030. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Biogen Stock Performance

BIIB opened at $222.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $211.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.96. The company has a market cap of $32.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Biogen Inc. has a 52-week low of $189.44 and a 52-week high of $319.76.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.45 by $0.22. Biogen had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.40 EPS. Biogen’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 15.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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.