StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BLUE. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on bluebird bio from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of bluebird bio from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, bluebird bio currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.63.

bluebird bio Trading Up 0.9 %

bluebird bio stock opened at $0.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $53.66 million, a PE ratio of -0.66 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $0.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.87. bluebird bio has a 12 month low of $0.45 and a 12 month high of $5.53.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. bluebird bio had a negative return on equity of 207.25% and a negative net margin of 567.29%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that bluebird bio will post -1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On bluebird bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLUE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in bluebird bio by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 325,111 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 90,139 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in bluebird bio in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in bluebird bio by 19.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,498,460 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,081 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in bluebird bio by 113.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 54,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. raised its position in bluebird bio by 77.4% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 94,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 41,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

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.