bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Short Interest Update

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 49,370,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the August 15th total of 41,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Institutional Trading of bluebird bio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLUE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in bluebird bio by 144.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 524,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 310,461 shares in the last quarter. Summit X LLC increased its holdings in bluebird bio by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 178,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 16,584 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the 4th quarter worth $1,035,000. Finally, Monashee Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of bluebird bio during the 4th quarter valued at about $690,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

bluebird bio Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLUE traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $0.50. The stock had a trading volume of 10,169,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,758,647. The company has a market capitalization of $55.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.75. bluebird bio has a 12-month low of $0.48 and a 12-month high of $5.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $0.88 and a 200-day moving average of $1.01.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $18.57 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that bluebird bio will post -1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLUE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on bluebird bio from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on bluebird bio from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded bluebird bio from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.74.

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.