3 Stocks to Watch Thursday: Viacom, Inc. (VIAB), Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc (AERI) and Bluebird Bio Inc (BLUE)

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Tech stocks rose 0.6% yesterday, which was a bright spot among what was otherwise a dreary day for U.S. equities. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.4%.

3 Stocks to Watch Thursday: Viacom, Inc. (VIAB), Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc (AERI) and Bluebird Bio Inc (BLUE)Thursday morning could see a bit of a rebound, however, led in part by Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AERI), Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) and Bluebird Bio Inc (NASDAQ:BLUE)

Here’s what’s moving these stocks today:

Viacom Inc. (VIAB)

VIAB shares were up in early trade despite a price-target cut from JPMorgan.

JPMorgan analysts have dropped their PT on VIAB shares from $50 to $48. Shares are off about 9% this year as the company heads into the second day of their regularly scheduled board meeting.

One of the potential topics making the rounds: A cut to the company’s dividend, spurred by murmurs of potential debt rating cuts and the reported hiring of Morgan Stanley and Lion Tree to look over Viacom’s capital structure.

The dividend rumor is mostly based around the fact that Viacom has not yet announced its next payment — something it typically would’ve done by the end of August.

VIAB shares were up 1% in morning trade nonetheless.

Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc (AERI)

Aerie Pharmaceuticals shares are skyrocketing following an update surrounding its new drug, which treats eye illnesses.

The company examined the most recent 90-day period of a 12-month study known as Phase 3 that treats patients with Roclatan. The medication helps ameliorate glaucoma and other symptoms related to eye diseases.

The clinical trial proved to be stronger than Aerie’s other products, including Rhopressa, which is used for similar purposes. Patients receive one dosage of the drug a day.

61% of patients experienced a reduction of diurnal intraocular pressure, which refers to the pressure that eye fluids cause.

AERI shares were set to open Thursday up 66%.

Bluebird Bio Inc (BLUE)

BLUE shares were up strongly in Thursday’s morning trade amid news that Goldman Sachs has added the company to its Conviction Buy List.

Goldman sees a whopping 115% upside in Bluebird Bio, citing a price target of $135. The firm points out that Bluebird is at a “value-inflection point,” citing the company’s upcoming Gen1 vs. Gen2 data in October and a LentiGlobin update in December, as well as pivotal readouts in mid-2017.

Per the Gen1/Gen2 data, Goldman says “We expect higher transduction efficientcy (~80%-90% vs. ~40% prior) and vector copy number (2x-4x higher) to drive substantial efficacy improvements, which may be underappreciated by the Street.”

BLUE stock was up 5% before Thursday’s open.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/09/3-stocks-to-watch-thursday-viacom-inc-viab-aerie-pharmaceuticals-inc-aeri-and-bluebird-bio-inc-blue/.

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