Investors Purchase Large Volume of Biogen Put Options (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 32,455 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 737% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,878 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIIB. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its stake in Biogen by 159.4% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 14,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 8,801 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Biogen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,376,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Biogen during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Biogen by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Trading Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ BIIB traded up $6.22 during trading on Monday, hitting $156.60. The stock had a trading volume of 673,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,499,294. Biogen has a one year low of $128.51 and a one year high of $238.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.01. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that Biogen will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Biogen from $251.00 to $207.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Biogen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Biogen from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Biogen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

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.