Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stake in Blueprint Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:BPMC)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in Blueprint Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:BPMC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,586 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.06% of Blueprint Medicines worth $3,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Blueprint Medicines by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 13.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,480,187 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $136,942,000 after purchasing an additional 20,703 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Blueprint Medicines by 23.7% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 16,520 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blueprint Medicines in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000.

Blueprint Medicines Stock Performance

Blueprint Medicines stock opened at $80.84 on Friday. Blueprint Medicines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.04 and a fifty-two week high of $121.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.85 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 2.85.

Blueprint Medicines (NASDAQ:BPMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.79) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by ($0.11). Blueprint Medicines had a negative return on equity of 77.49% and a negative net margin of 13.19%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blueprint Medicines Co. will post -1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Blueprint Medicines in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blueprint Medicines from $126.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Blueprint Medicines in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Blueprint Medicines in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.95.

Insider Transactions at Blueprint Medicines

In other news, COO Christina Rossi sold 2,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total transaction of $216,075.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,266 shares in the company, valued at $6,581,655.32. This trade represents a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ariel Hurley sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,496,700. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,608 shares of company stock worth $3,319,587 over the last ninety days. 4.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.