AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of bluebird bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE) by 315.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,334,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,013,144 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.22% of bluebird bio worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLUE. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in bluebird bio by 48.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 40,085 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of bluebird bio by 189.2% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 23,933 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of bluebird bio in the second quarter worth $25,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of bluebird bio by 113.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 54,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in bluebird bio during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

bluebird bio Price Performance

BLUE opened at $0.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $0.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.90. bluebird bio, Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.45 and a 1 year high of $5.53. The stock has a market cap of $98.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter. bluebird bio had a negative net margin of 567.29% and a negative return on equity of 207.25%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 million during the quarter. Analysts forecast that bluebird bio, Inc. will post -1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered bluebird bio from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on bluebird bio from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of bluebird bio from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of bluebird bio in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of bluebird bio from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.63.

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.