bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLUE. 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. Barclays upped their price target on bluebird bio from $2.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded bluebird bio from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of bluebird bio in a research report on Friday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $40.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

bluebird bio Price Performance

Shares of BLUE stock opened at $3.79 on Friday. bluebird bio has a 1 year low of $3.56 and a 1 year high of $28.60. 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’s 50 day moving average is $5.61 and its 200-day moving average is $7.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 0.76.

Institutional Trading of bluebird bio

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLUE. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in bluebird bio during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 237,648 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 77,293 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of bluebird bio by 273.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquired a new stake in bluebird bio during the 4th quarter worth $175,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 acquiring an additional 355,562 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.