Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,310,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the October 15th total of 11,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 890,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.8 days.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

Beam Therapeutics stock traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.05. 2,258,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,224,715. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of -13.66 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.86. Beam Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $20.84 and a twelve month high of $49.50.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.52 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.07% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BEAM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Beam Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 51,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total value of $1,347,259.60. Following the transaction, the president now owns 109,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,194. This represents a 31.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $1,476,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 938,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,091,011.40. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 162,894 shares of company stock worth $4,181,745. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 136,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 4.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,752,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Beam Therapeutics by 10.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,578,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,402,000 after acquiring an additional 413,892 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 36,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.