bluebird bio Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:BLUE)

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 1,893 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 28% compared to the average daily volume of 1,475 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLUE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America cut bluebird bio from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut bluebird bio from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com began coverage on bluebird bio in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on bluebird bio from $2.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.14.

bluebird bio Stock Performance

bluebird bio stock opened at $4.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.66 million, a P/E ratio of -0.11 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.54. bluebird bio has a 52 week low of $4.00 and a 52 week high of $38.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On bluebird bio

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquired a new position in bluebird bio in the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in bluebird bio during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in bluebird bio by 152.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 122,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 74,185 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in bluebird bio by 48.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 237,648 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 77,293 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in bluebird bio by 273.7% during the third 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 during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.