bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE) – Equities research analysts at Svb Leerink dropped their Q1 2020 earnings per share estimates for bluebird bio in a research report issued on Wednesday, December 11th, according to Zacks Investment Research. Svb Leerink analyst M. Foroohar now anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings of ($3.44) per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($3.43). Svb Leerink currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $119.00 price target on the stock. Svb Leerink also issued estimates for bluebird bio’s Q3 2020 earnings at ($3.50) EPS, FY2020 earnings at ($14.11) EPS, FY2021 earnings at ($4.77) EPS and FY2022 earnings at ($1.02) EPS.
bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($3.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($3.54) by ($0.19). bluebird bio had a negative return on equity of 42.29% and a negative net margin of 1,326.56%. The business had revenue of $8.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.73) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other research analysts have also recently commented on BLUE. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of bluebird bio in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $96.00 target price on shares of bluebird bio and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut shares of bluebird bio from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $100.00 price target on shares of bluebird bio and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity cut their price target on shares of bluebird bio from $171.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.56.
BLUE traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.95. 715,990 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,458,801. bluebird bio has a 1-year low of $71.42 and a 1-year high of $163.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a quick ratio of 6.22, a current ratio of 6.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in bluebird bio by 3.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 241,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,730,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in bluebird bio by 0.4% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 266,141 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in bluebird bio by 18.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 158,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,523,000 after acquiring an additional 24,387 shares during the period. Aperio Group LLC increased its position in bluebird bio by 4.4% during the second quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 12,447 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in bluebird bio by 13.5% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,101 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period.
In other news, insider Kory James Wentworth sold 397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.59, for a total transaction of $36,758.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,112.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Philip D. Gregory sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $169,758.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,424.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,697 shares of company stock valued at $249,271. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.
About bluebird bio
bluebird bio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing transformative gene therapies for severe genetic diseases and cancer. Its product candidates in severe genetic diseases include LentiGlobin, which is in various clinical studies for the treatment of transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease; and Lenti-D that is in Phase II/III clinical trials for the treatment of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare hereditary neurological disorder.
