Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Up 8.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) shot up 8.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.00 and last traded at $27.51. 190,650 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,215,315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEAM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank began coverage on Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.91.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of -15.63 and a beta of 1.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.13.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by ($0.01). Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 41.07%. The business had revenue of $14.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.22) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total transaction of $1,476,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 938,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,091,011.40. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 51,110 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,194. This trade represents a 31.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 162,894 shares of company stock worth $4,181,745. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEAM. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,683,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,518,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,194,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 59.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,552,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,414 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 282.0% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 43,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 32,130 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,760,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.