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

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.60.

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised bluebird bio from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on bluebird bio in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Baird R W cut bluebird bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On bluebird bio

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in bluebird bio by 12.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,759 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. bought a new position in shares of bluebird bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Murchinson Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of bluebird bio during the first quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of bluebird bio by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 64,950 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of bluebird bio in the 1st quarter worth approximately $679,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

bluebird bio Price Performance

BLUE stock opened at $4.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.13 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. bluebird bio has a 12-month low of $3.20 and a 12-month high of $28.60.

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.