bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, a decrease of 94.8% from the November 30th total of 49,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 418,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days. Currently, 26.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded bluebird bio from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $60.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on bluebird bio from $80.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.14.

bluebird bio Price Performance

Shares of BLUE traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.78. 354,673 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,577. bluebird bio has a one year low of $5.80 and a one year high of $38.40. The firm has a market cap of $85.36 million, a P/E ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.41 and a 200-day moving average of $13.42.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($8.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($8.00) by ($0.40). bluebird bio had a negative net margin of 565.74% and a negative return on equity of 322.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that bluebird bio will post -1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of bluebird bio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of bluebird bio in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 122,855 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 74,185 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in bluebird bio by 48.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 237,648 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 77,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in bluebird bio by 273.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 252,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 184,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.