Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 1,915 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Biogen were worth $3,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Biogen by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 10,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Biogen by 25.0% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 385 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Biogen in the third quarter worth $4,111,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Biogen in the third quarter worth $1,118,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Biogen during the third quarter valued at $150,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Biogen news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,926.36. This trade represents a 43.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Biogen Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BIIB opened at $115.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $136.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.02. Biogen Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.04 and a 1-year high of $238.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BIIB. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Biogen from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Biogen from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $138.00) on shares of Biogen in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Biogen from $156.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Biogen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.15.

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.