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

Shares of bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are 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 twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on BLUE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on bluebird bio from $40.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised bluebird bio from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on bluebird bio in a research note on Monday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of bluebird bio from $40.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Baird R W lowered bluebird bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

bluebird bio Trading Down 5.8 %

BLUE opened at $3.90 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.04. 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 company has a market cap of $38.18 million, a P/E ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 0.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLUE. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the fourth quarter worth approximately $175,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in bluebird bio by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,841,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 43,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 166,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew 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 worth $130,000 after buying an additional 184,605 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.