Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $70.00 to $78.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 56.97% from the stock’s current price.

BLBD has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their price target on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $49.69 on Thursday. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $61.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 62.87% and a net margin of 8.63%.The firm had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.74 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Blue Bird’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $402,313.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 49,087 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,493.93. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $775,510.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 225,385 shares in the company, valued at $11,363,911.70. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 10,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 159.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 1,742.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Blue Bird

Here are the key news stories impacting Blue Bird this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Blue Bird reported $1.00 EPS vs. $0.80 consensus and revenue of $333.1M vs. ~$325.7M expected; revenue rose ~6% year-over-year and margins/ROE remained strong. This is the primary driver of the stock move. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: EV backlog and growth highlighted on the call — management emphasized strong demand and a growing electric-bus backlog, supporting medium‑term revenue and margin upside in electrification. Yahoo — Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and targets — multiple recent buy ratings and a median price target near $67.50 give the stock additional upside potential from current levels. QuiverQuant — Analyst Coverage & Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance roughly in line with Street — company commentary and materials indicate revenue expectations near the Street (~$1.5B range), so the beat was driven more by Q1 execution than by raised full‑year guidance. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call disclosure available — the earnings call transcript and slide presentation provide detail on margins, cash flow and backlog for investors wanting to dig deeper. Seeking Alpha — Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling noted — recent filings show multiple insider sales over the past six months, which could be perceived as a headwind by some investors. QuiverQuant — Insider Activity

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company’s core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.