Beam Therapeutics' (BEAM) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush reaffirmed an “Outperform” rating on Beam Therapeutics and set a $65 price target, implying 142.27% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $49 average target.
• Beam shares opened at $26.83 after falling 9.5%; the company’s latest quarter missed expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $1.18 per share and $0.49 million in revenue, down 94.2% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 99.68% of the stock, with major holders including ARK Investment Management, BlackRock and State Street. Company insiders sold 301,527 shares worth $10.5 million in the latest quarter.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush's price target indicates a potential upside of 142.27% from the stock's previous close.

BEAM has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Down 9.5%

Shares of BEAM stock opened at $26.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.20 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 14.57, a current ratio of 14.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Beam Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $19.35 and a fifty-two week high of $38.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.96.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.11) by ($0.07). Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 54.75% and a negative return on equity of 30.71%. The business had revenue of $0.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.00) earnings per share. Beam Therapeutics's revenue was down 94.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total transaction of $429,008.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,205,815.04. The trade was a 16.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Fmr Llc sold 251,488 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.26, for a total value of $8,867,466.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 854,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,132,596.58. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 301,527 shares of company stock worth $10,468,500 in the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 12,467,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428,355 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $308,796,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,228,529 shares of the company's stock worth $144,935,000 after buying an additional 1,219,871 shares in the last quarter. ARCH Venture Management LLC acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $155,771,929. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 3,228.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,586,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,093,000 after buying an additional 3,478,871 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.68% of the company's stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

Beam Therapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: BEAM is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing precision genetic medicines through its pioneering base editing platform. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional research facilities in Philadelphia, the company focuses on engineering molecular editors capable of making precise single-nucleotide changes in DNA. By harnessing its proprietary base editing technology, Beam aims to correct or disrupt disease-causing genetic variants at their source, offering the potential for novel therapies in areas with significant unmet medical need.

Founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Harvard University and the Broad and Whitehead Institutes, Beam was co-founded by leading academic researcher David R.

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