Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) saw a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, a growth of 32.5% from the June 30th total of 2,740,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Biogen during the fourth quarter worth $2,265,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 15.0% during 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 buying an additional 4,693 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Biogen during the first quarter worth $1,290,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Biogen by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 386,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,337,000 after buying an additional 3,380 shares during the last quarter. 87.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BIIB shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $317.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Biogen in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Biogen in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Biogen from $250.00 to $214.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.26.

Biogen Price Performance

NASDAQ:BIIB traded up $3.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $214.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,538,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,924. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of -0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Biogen has a 12 month low of $189.44 and a 12 month high of $278.95.

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.