Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes Position in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,678 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,576 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Biogen by 181.2% during the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 44,266 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,769,000 after acquiring an additional 28,524 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at $1,415,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter valued at $2,477,000. 87.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BIIB. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Biogen from $281.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Biogen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Biogen from $298.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) dropped their price objective on Biogen from $178.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Biogen from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.33.

Biogen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB opened at $143.09 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.15. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that Biogen Inc. will post 15.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen A. Sherwin sold 8,760 shares of Biogen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $1,314,175.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,926.36. The trade was a 43.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.