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Here's Why Bluebird Bio (BLUE) Stock Is Falling Today
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Shares of Bluebird Bio (BLUE - Free Report) , a major player in the emerging gene therapy and CAR-T research markets, slumped more than 6% in morning trading Monday after receiving a key analyst downgrade.
In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley downgraded the biotech firm from “Equal weight” to “Underweight” and reiterated its price target of $105.00 per share. That call would represent a 23.5% drop from Friday’s close.
Morgan Stanley’s Matt Harrison said that he expects shares to underperform, citing headwinds in Bluebird’s sickle cell business. Still, the analyst noted that Bluebird’s BCMA-targeting CAR-T candidate does provide some valuation support.
As most biotech investors will know by now, CAR-T therapy is an emerging method for treating cancer that includes making genetic changes to a patient’s immune T-cells and reinjecting them into the body to attack cancer cells.
Bluebird currently has several active clinical and pre-clinical programs under its CAR-T umbrella. The company’s lead CAR-T program, bb2121, is a collaboration with biotech giant Celgene and has produced encouraging data thus far in its Phase 1 study.
It’s been a busy year for the CAR-T industry, as several major milestones have been reached. In August, Novartis (NVS - Free Report) received approval for its innovative new lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, making it the first approved CAR-T therapy in the world.
And earlier that same week, biotech behemoth Gilead Sciences (GILD - Free Report) announced that it was acquiring Kite Pharma , another competitor in the CAR-T market. Gilead will pay a staggering $11.9 billion for Kite, which is expected to receive approval for its own CAR-T therapy in November.
For more on the current state of the CAR-T market, check out our Friday Finish Line team’s exclusive interview with Brad Loncar, the creator of the Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy Index:
Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
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And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
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Here's Why Bluebird Bio (BLUE) Stock Is Falling Today
Shares of Bluebird Bio (BLUE - Free Report) , a major player in the emerging gene therapy and CAR-T research markets, slumped more than 6% in morning trading Monday after receiving a key analyst downgrade.
In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley downgraded the biotech firm from “Equal weight” to “Underweight” and reiterated its price target of $105.00 per share. That call would represent a 23.5% drop from Friday’s close.
Morgan Stanley’s Matt Harrison said that he expects shares to underperform, citing headwinds in Bluebird’s sickle cell business. Still, the analyst noted that Bluebird’s BCMA-targeting CAR-T candidate does provide some valuation support.
As most biotech investors will know by now, CAR-T therapy is an emerging method for treating cancer that includes making genetic changes to a patient’s immune T-cells and reinjecting them into the body to attack cancer cells.
Bluebird currently has several active clinical and pre-clinical programs under its CAR-T umbrella. The company’s lead CAR-T program, bb2121, is a collaboration with biotech giant Celgene and has produced encouraging data thus far in its Phase 1 study.
It’s been a busy year for the CAR-T industry, as several major milestones have been reached. In August, Novartis (NVS - Free Report) received approval for its innovative new lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, making it the first approved CAR-T therapy in the world.
And earlier that same week, biotech behemoth Gilead Sciences (GILD - Free Report) announced that it was acquiring Kite Pharma , another competitor in the CAR-T market. Gilead will pay a staggering $11.9 billion for Kite, which is expected to receive approval for its own CAR-T therapy in November.
For more on the current state of the CAR-T market, check out our Friday Finish Line team’s exclusive interview with Brad Loncar, the creator of the Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy Index:
Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>