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

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,750,000 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the March 15th total of 34,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

bluebird bio Stock Performance

BLUE traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $0.99. The company had a trading volume of 5,884,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,997,299. bluebird bio has a 52-week low of $0.88 and a 52-week high of $5.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.09. The company has a market cap of $108.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 0.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of bluebird bio to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $1.72 to $1.68 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $12.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $2.31 to $1.02 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLUE. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of bluebird bio by 11.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 165,807 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $804,000 after buying an additional 16,700 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in shares of bluebird bio in the first quarter worth $50,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of bluebird bio by 82.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,847 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of bluebird bio in the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of bluebird bio in the first quarter worth $1,081,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.