Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 55,688 Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 339.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,688 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Biogen were worth $13,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Biogen by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 117 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Biogen during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Biogen in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Biogen by 123.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 154 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Biogen by 249.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 178 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Biogen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $159.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of -0.06. Biogen Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.62 and a 1 year high of $268.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.47 and a 200-day moving average of $203.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 16.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 16.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on BIIB shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Biogen from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $270.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $302.00 price target (down from $340.00) on shares of Biogen in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Biogen in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Biogen from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Biogen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Biogen news, insider Priya Singhal sold 431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total value of $88,018.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,633.52. The trade was a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.