Short Interest in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) Drops By 26.8%

bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,990,000 shares, a drop of 26.8% from the February 13th total of 2,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 474,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 20.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

bluebird bio Price Performance

Shares of BLUE stock opened at $3.75 on Monday. bluebird bio has a 52-week low of $3.56 and a 52-week high of $30.90. The stock has a market cap of $36.46 million, a PE ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised bluebird bio from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of bluebird bio from $2.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $40.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of bluebird bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.10.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On bluebird bio

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquired a new stake in bluebird bio in the 4th quarter valued at $175,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 184,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in bluebird bio by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,683,042 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 166,771 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in bluebird bio by 1.1% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in bluebird bio in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 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.