Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Up 7.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM)’s stock price rose 7.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $25.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Beam Therapeutics traded as high as $26.84 and last traded at $27.09. Approximately 1,184,373 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 1,146,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.10.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners raised Beam Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $27.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Beam Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Transactions at Beam Therapeutics

In other news, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $30,627.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,968 shares in the company, valued at $2,541,250.24. The trade was a 1.19 % 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, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 908,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,306,628.25. The trade was a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BEAM. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.96. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.32 and a beta of 1.92.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $30.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 41.07%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 90.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.