bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.14.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of bluebird bio from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on bluebird bio from $80.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on bluebird bio in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On bluebird bio

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of bluebird bio by 315.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,334,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,144 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in bluebird bio by 2,270.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 371,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 355,562 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in bluebird bio by 8.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 186,903 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in bluebird bio by 273.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 252,062 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 184,605 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of bluebird bio by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,683,042 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 166,771 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

bluebird bio Price Performance

BLUE opened at $7.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.73 million, a P/E ratio of -4.17 and a beta of 0.72. bluebird bio has a 12 month low of $5.80 and a 12 month high of $38.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.53.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($8.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($8.00) by ($0.40). bluebird bio had a negative return on equity of 322.46% and a negative net margin of 565.74%. The business had revenue of $16.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.09 million. On average, research analysts expect that bluebird bio will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

bluebird bio Company Profile

bluebird bio, Inc, a biotechnology company, researches, develops, and commercializes gene therapies for severe genetic diseases. Its product candidates for severe genetic diseases include ZYNTEGLO (betibeglogene autotemcel) for the treatment of transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia; lovotibeglogene autotemcel for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD); and SKYSONA (elivaldogene autotemcel) to treat cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy.