Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,166 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Biogen were worth $9,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Biogen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Biogen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Biogen by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Biogen by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 231 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Biogen by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIIB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $192.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $231.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Biogen from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.33.

Biogen Stock Up 1.6 %

BIIB stock opened at $143.46 on Wednesday. Biogen Inc. has a one year low of $128.51 and a one year high of $238.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $144.83 and a 200-day moving average of $169.56.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 14.98%. As a group, analysts expect that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 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.