Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Given New $51.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Key Points

• Guggenheim lowered its price target on Beam Therapeutics to $51 from $55 but maintained a Buy rating; the new target implies 93.39% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed, though the consensus is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $47.36.
• Beam reported a quarterly loss of $1.28 per share, worse than estimates, and revenue of $0.31 million versus expectations of $8.75 million; revenue fell 96.8% year over year.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by analysts at Guggenheim from $55.00 to $51.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Guggenheim's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 93.39% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on BEAM. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair upgraded Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Beam Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.36.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BEAM traded down $1.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.37. 1,269,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,023,925. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of -25.20 and a beta of 2.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.08. Beam Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $20.23 and a 52-week high of $38.26. 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 (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.11). Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 31.32% and a negative net margin of 73.04%. The firm had revenue of $0.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.10) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 96.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Beam Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John Evans sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total transaction of $589,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,047,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,682,621.85. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $350,000. Privium Fund Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 91,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,132 shares of the company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.68% of the company's stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines for patients with serious diseases. The company's platform uses base editing, a form of gene editing designed to make targeted changes to individual DNA letters without creating double-strand breaks. Beam is also advancing related editing technologies and delivery systems intended to improve the precision and effectiveness of genetic treatments.

Beam's pipeline includes investigational programs for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and glycogen storage disease type Ia.

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