Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Trading 8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) shares shot up 8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.79 and last traded at $27.81. 622,444 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 1,111,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $47.67.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Up 8.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.81 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.48 and a 200 day moving average of $25.76.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.52 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 41.07%. The business’s revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.22) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total transaction of $802,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 908,659 shares in the company, valued at $24,306,628.25. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $30,627.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,968 shares in the company, valued at $2,541,250.24. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 84.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 21.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $98,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 13.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics Inc, a biotechnology company, engages in the development of precision genetic medicines for patients suffering from serious diseases in the United States. It develops BEAM-101 for the treatment of sickle cell disease or beta-thalassemia; and BEAM-302, a liver-targeting LNP formulation to treat severe alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; BEAM-201, an anti-CD7 CAR-T product candidate, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma; and BEAM-301, a liver-targeting LNP formulation for the treatment of glycogen storage disease 1a.