bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Short Interest Up 20.0% in August

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 49,370,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the August 15th total of 41,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

bluebird bio Trading Up 5.5 %

bluebird bio stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $0.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,739,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,752,763. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $0.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $66.24 million, a P/E ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 0.75. bluebird bio has a 12 month low of $0.52 and a 12 month high of $5.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On bluebird bio

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in bluebird bio by 144.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 524,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 310,461 shares during the last quarter. Summit X LLC grew its holdings in bluebird bio by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 178,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 16,584 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in bluebird bio during the 4th quarter valued at $1,035,000. Finally, Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in bluebird bio during the 4th quarter worth $690,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BLUE shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on bluebird bio from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of bluebird bio in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of bluebird bio from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on bluebird bio from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.74.

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.