bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Short Interest Down 26.8% in February

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,990,000 shares, a decrease of 26.8% from the February 13th total of 2,720,000 shares. Approximately 20.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 474,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

bluebird bio Stock Performance

Shares of BLUE opened at $3.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $38.50 million, a PE ratio of -0.11 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.19. bluebird bio has a 12-month low of $3.56 and a 12-month high of $30.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLUE shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $2.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of bluebird bio from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Baird R W cut shares of bluebird bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of bluebird bio from $40.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, bluebird bio currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On bluebird bio

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of bluebird bio during the fourth quarter worth $175,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,841,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 43,382 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 48.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 237,648 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 77,293 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of bluebird bio during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,683,042 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 166,771 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About bluebird bio

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.