Bank of America Downgrades bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) to Neutral

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $0.50 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $3.00. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 55.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays dropped their target price on bluebird bio from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of bluebird bio from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of bluebird bio in a research report on Sunday, November 10th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of bluebird bio from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, bluebird bio has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.03.

bluebird bio Stock Down 11.5 %

NASDAQ:BLUE opened at $0.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.57. bluebird bio has a 1-year low of $0.32 and a 1-year high of $5.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $0.49 and a 200 day moving average of $0.78. The firm has a market cap of $62.21 million, a PE ratio of -0.14 and a beta of 0.76.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter. bluebird bio had a negative return on equity of 207.25% and a negative net margin of 567.29%. The business had revenue of $18.57 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that bluebird bio will post -1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On bluebird bio

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allegheny Financial Group LTD purchased a new position in bluebird bio in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 113.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 54,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 29,113 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of bluebird bio in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 77.4% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 94,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 41,177 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in bluebird bio by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,841,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 43,382 shares during the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.