Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Up 17.9% – Here’s Why

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) shot up 17.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $33.66 and last traded at $33.74. 751,888 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,107,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BEAM. Leerink Partners upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $47.67.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Up 14.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.66. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.55 and a beta of 1.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $30,627.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,541,250.24. This trade represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $802,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 908,659 shares in the company, valued at $24,306,628.25. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEAM. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 816.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 84.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 21.3% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

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.