Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Trading Up 10.5% – What’s Next?

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was up 10.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $31.33 and last traded at $32.9050. Approximately 191,886 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,009,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on BEAM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Beam Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.83.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 16.99 and a current ratio of 16.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.94 and a beta of 2.26.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.91) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.12. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 39.66% and a negative return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $31.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.23) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 323.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Amy Simon sold 6,700 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $164,686.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 102,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,525,226.30. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,078 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $739,317.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,740,298.90. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,544 shares of company stock valued at $1,899,942. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEAM. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 55,780.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 33,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,468 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 438,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after purchasing an additional 42,609 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 17.7% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 30,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 46.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 128,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 40,583 shares during the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: BEAM) is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing precision genetic medicines through its pioneering base editing platform. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional research facilities in Philadelphia, the company focuses on engineering molecular editors capable of making precise single-nucleotide changes in DNA. By harnessing its proprietary base editing technology, Beam aims to correct or disrupt disease-causing genetic variants at their source, offering the potential for novel therapies in areas with significant unmet medical need.

Founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Harvard University and the Broad and Whitehead Institutes, Beam was co-founded by leading academic researcher David R.