Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Trading 5.8% Higher – What’s Next?

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $29.85 and last traded at $29.9760. Approximately 162,384 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,074,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.10 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.06 and a 200-day moving average of $28.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a current ratio of 14.57.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by ($0.07). Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 54.75% and a negative return on equity of 30.71%. The company had revenue of $0.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.00) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 94.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total transaction of $429,008.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,815.04. This represents a 16.28% 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 Fmr Llc sold 251,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.26, for a total value of $8,867,466.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 854,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,132,596.58. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 301,527 shares of company stock worth $10,468,500. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 4,370.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 48.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

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.