Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 217.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,472 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Biogen were worth $378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Biogen by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 10,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,646,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Biogen by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 51,530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,880,000 after purchasing an additional 3,698 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Biogen by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,216,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $183,461,000 after buying an additional 319,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Biogen by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 117,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,901,000 after buying an additional 38,283 shares during the period. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Biogen Price Performance

BIIB opened at $138.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.25. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.51 and a 1 year high of $238.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.01.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported $3.44 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BIIB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) reduced their target price on Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. This represents a 43.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Company 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.