Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $65.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Beam Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BEAM opened at $25.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.14. Beam Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $20.23 and a fifty-two week high of $38.26. The company has a current ratio of 14.57, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $0.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 30.71% and a negative net margin of 54.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.00) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Evans sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $589,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,047,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,682,621.85. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEAM. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,037,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,309,000. Canal Insurance CO bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $953,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $2,717,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,259,000. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Beam Therapeutics

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines for patients with serious diseases. The company’s platform uses base editing, a form of gene editing designed to make targeted changes to individual DNA letters without creating double-strand breaks. Beam is also advancing related editing technologies and delivery systems intended to improve the precision and effectiveness of genetic treatments.

Beam’s pipeline includes investigational programs for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and glycogen storage disease type Ia.