Biogen's Core Business Impresses While Potential Alzheimer's Catalyst Looms


27% profit every 20 days?

This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.


Analysts at Morgan Stanley turned bullish on Biogen Inc

ENTER TO WIN $500 IN STOCK OR CRYPTO

Enter your email and you'll also get Benzinga's ultimate morning update AND a free $30 gift card and more!

(NASDAQ:BIIB) as the company's phase 3 Alzheimer's catalyst could "make all its potential issues disappear." The firm's Matthew Harrison upgraded

Want Private Access to Benzinga Analyst?

Check out the latest strategies our team of experts are using every week so that you can always adapt to the market like the pros!—Get FULL Access to This Week's Webinar Here.


Biogen's stock rating from Equal-Weight to Overweight with a price target boosted from $311 to $375 (see Harrison's track record here).Biogen has multiple therapies to treat Alzheimer's in its pipeline, including a lead candidate called Aducanumab which is currently undergoing a phase 3 trial, Harrison commented in his upgrade note. Expectations are calling for a readout of the trial in late 2019 or early 2020, but an Alzheimer's related catalyst could come sooner in a phase 1b follow-up at CTAD in November.

Beyond Alzheimer's, Biogen's SMA drug Spinraza realized the best launch of any orphan asset with $300 million in sales in just the first two quarters after launch, Harrison continued. The therapy could realize peak sales of $4 billion and the therapy could boost the company's topline growth rate by 3 to 4 percent. This would imply that Biogen will be a "mid-single digit percent grower" heading into the key catalyst of Alzheimer's data releases.

Aside from the company's therapies, Biogen's "strong" balance sheet could fund additional M&A activity, the analyst concluded. These forms of business development could prove to be a way for management to "supercharge growth."

At time of publication, shares of Biogen were up 3.67 percent at $326.48.

Related Links:Biogen Spinoff Bioverativ Is A Buy19% Upside Predicted For Biogen, Goldman Upgrades On Strength Of Alzheimer's Drug

27% profit every 20 days?

This is what Nic Chahine averages with his option buys. Not selling covered calls or spreads… BUYING options. Most traders don’t even have a winning percentage of 27% buying options. He has an 83% win rate. Here’s how he does it.


Posted In: Analyst ColorBiotechLong IdeasNewsUpgradesPrice TargetAnalyst RatingsMoversTrading IdeasGeneralAducanumabAlzheimersChaikin AnalyticsMatthew HarrisonMorgan StanleySpinraza