bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.14.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLUE. Barclays raised their target price on shares of bluebird bio from $2.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com started coverage on bluebird bio in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "sell" rating for the company. Bank of America cut bluebird bio from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $60.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered bluebird bio from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

bluebird bio Stock Down 6.0 %

NASDAQ:BLUE traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 312,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,377. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $8.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.75. bluebird bio has a twelve month low of $5.80 and a twelve month high of $38.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLUE. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of bluebird bio in the fourth quarter valued at about $175,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 184,605 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 166,771 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 43,382 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of bluebird bio during the third quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company's stock.

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.