HC Wainwright Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM)

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Beam Therapeutics and set an $80 price target, implying 238.27% potential upside from the stock’s $23.65 price. Analysts overall give the company a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target of $50.10.
• Beam’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: it reported a loss of $1.18 per share versus the $1.11 consensus estimate, while revenue of $0.49 million declined 94.2% year over year and missed estimates.
• The stock has declined 3.2% and trades near the lower end of its 12-month range, while institutional investors own 99.68% of outstanding shares. An insider also sold 16,667 shares valued at approximately $429,000.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $80.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright's price target indicates a potential upside of 238.27% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair upgraded Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.10.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2%

BEAM stock opened at $23.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 14.57, a current ratio of 14.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.59. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.50 and a beta of 2.20. Beam Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $20.23 and a twelve month high of $38.26.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total value of $429,008.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,815.04. This represents a 16.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 123.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines using base editing, a technology designed to make targeted changes to DNA without cutting both strands of the DNA double helix. The company's platform is intended to address diseases caused by specific genetic mutations and to support the development of potentially durable treatments.

Beam's research and development activities focus on areas including hematology, liver diseases and genetic disorders.