Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 47,153 Shares of Blueprint Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:BPMC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Blueprint Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:BPMC - Free Report) by 81.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,038 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 47,153 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Blueprint Medicines were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Blueprint Medicines during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 206.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 598 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Blueprint Medicines during the third quarter worth approximately $108,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Blueprint Medicines by 13.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,116 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Blueprint Medicines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $122,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blueprint Medicines from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.33.

Blueprint Medicines Stock Performance

BPMC traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.35. 555,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,457. Blueprint Medicines Co. has a 12 month low of $72.24 and a 12 month high of $121.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.87 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 3.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.88.

Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ:BPMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $128.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $127.56 million. Blueprint Medicines had a negative net margin of 29.48% and a negative return on equity of 112.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 126.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.20) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Blueprint Medicines Co. will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blueprint Medicines

In related news, COO Christina Rossi sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.10, for a total value of $216,257.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 71,657 shares in the company, valued at $6,814,580.70. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kate Haviland sold 2,353 shares of Blueprint Medicines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.60, for a total value of $227,299.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,598.40. This represents a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,720 shares of company stock worth $2,177,846 in the last 90 days. 4.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blueprint Medicines Profile

Blueprint Medicines Corporation, a precision therapy company, develops medicines for genomically defined cancers and blood disorders in the United States and internationally. The company is developing AYVAKIT for the treatment of systemic mastocytosis (SM) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors; BLU-263, an orally available, potent, and KIT inhibitor for the treatment of indolent SM, and other mast cell disorders.