Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) Trading Up 4.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) rose 4.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $615.00 to $700.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $753.51 and last traded at $735.0420. Approximately 1,138,048 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 1,097,857 shares. The stock had previously closed at $702.75.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $813.00 to $831.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $815.00 to $865.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $678.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $776.81.

Insider Activity at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

In other news, VP Jason Pitofsky sold 431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.43, for a total transaction of $280,766.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 4,233 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,503.19. This represents a 9.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christine A. Poon sold 6,500 shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $654.27, for a total transaction of $4,252,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,538,843.04. This trade represents a 73.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 7.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals by 159.7% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 84,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,308,000 after buying an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management LLC raised its position in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 8,274 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Sepio Capital LP lifted its holdings in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 3,389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,300,000. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 25,503 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,389,000 after purchasing an additional 6,283 shares in the last quarter. 83.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 4.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $608.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $573.41. The company has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.31.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $11.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $2.10. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 32.13%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $12.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 35.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.43%.

About Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc discovers, invents, develops, manufactures, and commercializes medicines for treating various diseases worldwide. The company's products include EYLEA injection to treat wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema; myopic choroidal neovascularization; diabetic retinopathy; neovascular glaucoma; and retinopathy of prematurity.