Short Interest in Blueprint Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:BPMC) Grows By 12.6%

Blueprint Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:BPMC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,100,000 shares, a growth of 12.6% from the December 15th total of 4,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 643,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (down from $135.00) on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Blueprint Medicines in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Blueprint Medicines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.72.

Blueprint Medicines Stock Performance

Shares of Blueprint Medicines stock traded up $6.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $110.05. 970,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,081. Blueprint Medicines has a one year low of $72.24 and a one year high of $121.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.16 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.42.

Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ:BPMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $128.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.56 million. Blueprint Medicines had a negative return on equity of 112.30% and a negative net margin of 29.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 126.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blueprint Medicines will post -3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey W. Albers sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.77, for a total transaction of $1,346,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 157,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,143,891.89. This represents a 8.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ariel Hurley sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.26, for a total value of $169,639.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,395,822.42. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,970 shares of company stock valued at $2,914,246 in the last three months. 4.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blueprint Medicines

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Blueprint Medicines during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 206.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 598 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Blueprint Medicines in the third quarter worth about $108,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blueprint Medicines during the third quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 69.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period.

About Blueprint Medicines

Blueprint Medicines Corporation, a precision therapy company, develops medicines for genomically defined cancers and blood disorders in the United States and internationally. The company is developing AYVAKIT for the treatment of systemic mastocytosis (SM) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors; BLU-263, an orally available, potent, and KIT inhibitor for the treatment of indolent SM, and other mast cell disorders.