bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Short Interest Down 94.8% in December

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, a decline of 94.8% from the November 30th total of 49,570,000 shares. Approximately 26.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 418,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On bluebird bio

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLUE. Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of bluebird bio during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in bluebird bio during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in 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 period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in bluebird bio by 48.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in bluebird bio by 273.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

bluebird bio Stock Performance

Shares of BLUE stock remained flat at $8.78 during midday trading on Friday. 250,972 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 396,994. bluebird bio has a 1-year low of $5.80 and a 1-year high of $38.40. The stock has a market cap of $85.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($8.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($8.00) by ($0.40). bluebird bio had a negative return on equity of 322.46% and a negative net margin of 565.74%. The company had revenue of $16.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.09 million. Analysts expect that bluebird bio will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on bluebird bio from $60.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of bluebird bio in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of bluebird bio from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $60.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of bluebird bio from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, bluebird bio has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.14.

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.