Biogen downgraded at BMO Capital Markets citing an increasingly challenging outlook
naphtalina/iStock via Getty Images


Biogen (BIIB
-0.2%) shares continue to trade lower after the company projected an underwhelming 2022 guidance Thursday. In reaction, BMO Capital Markets has downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform.
Reporting its Q4 2021 results, the maker of neurology drugs reported only ~$1M sales for its newly approved Alzheimerâs medication, Aduhelm, a slight improvement from ~$0.3M sales in the previous quarter.

However, analyst Evan David Seigerman cites an âincreasingly challenging narrative around the outlook for Aduhelm and overall management of the business.â He argues that the company is âspending too much on a product that is likely to generate too little.â
The analyst warns that Biogenâs (NASDAQ:BIIB) current guidance implies a broader-than-proposed National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Aduhelm.
A further decline in company shares could generate takeover interest, âbut that remains a big IF,â Seigerman wrote. The price target lowered to $238 from $260 per share implies a premium of ~8% to the last close.
See how Biogen (BIIB) underperformed the broader market even after recording a major win in 2021 with the FDA approval for Aduhelm in June.