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

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) saw a large growth in short interest during 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 daily trading volume, of 7,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On bluebird bio

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of bluebird bio by 315.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,334,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 1,013,144 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD bought a new position in bluebird bio in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in bluebird bio by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 292,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 59,219 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 685,757 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 111,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of bluebird bio in the first quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

bluebird bio Stock Down 12.7 %

Shares of BLUE stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $0.50. 10,169,723 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,758,647. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $0.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.01. bluebird bio has a 12-month low of $0.48 and a 12-month high of $5.53. The stock has a market cap of $55.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.75.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that bluebird bio will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLUE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on bluebird bio from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded bluebird bio from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, bluebird bio currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.