Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) by 99.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 275,885 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Biogen were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BIIB. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in Biogen by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Biogen by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 263 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Biogen by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 337 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its position in Biogen by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,076 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in Biogen by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 35,989 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,693 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIIB has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Biogen from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC raised their price objective on Biogen from $339.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $317.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $294.00 price objective on shares of Biogen in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Biogen from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Biogen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.22.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ BIIB traded down $16.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $211.17. 2,256,077 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 868,124. The company has a market capitalization of $30.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of -0.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Biogen Inc. has a 12-month low of $189.44 and a 12-month high of $278.95.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Biogen had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.40 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Biogen Inc. will post 15.61 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.