Stephens Downgrades Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ:BPMC) to Hold

Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ:BPMC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Stephens from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $135.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock, down from their previous price objective of $150.00. Stephens' target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.39% from the company's previous close.

BPMC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Blueprint Medicines in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $129.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank downgraded Blueprint Medicines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blueprint Medicines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blueprint Medicines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.59.

Blueprint Medicines Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:BPMC traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $128.10. 8,923,089 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,083,617. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.61 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $93.17 and its 200-day moving average is $95.16. Blueprint Medicines has a 12-month low of $73.04 and a 12-month high of $128.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ:BPMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $149.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $158.31 million. Blueprint Medicines had a negative net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 77.49%. The company's revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blueprint Medicines will post -1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blueprint Medicines

In related news, insider Ariel Hurley sold 2,752 shares of Blueprint Medicines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $283,813.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,747,434.72. This trade represents a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Christina Rossi sold 2,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.75, for a total value of $231,379.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 66,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,816,436. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,574 shares of company stock valued at $1,465,528. Company insiders own 4.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blueprint Medicines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blueprint Medicines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in Blueprint Medicines in the fourth quarter worth $321,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 303,432 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,465,000 after purchasing an additional 7,101 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,625 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blueprint Medicines in the 4th quarter worth $21,104,000.

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.