Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Stock Gets Price Target Bump from Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush raised its Beam Therapeutics price target from $28 to $30 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 7.62% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed, but MarketBeat’s consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a $47.10 average price target.
• Beam missed quarterly expectations, reporting a loss of $1.28 per share versus the $1.17 expected, and revenue of $0.31 million versus $8.75 million expected.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Wedbush from $28.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wedbush's price target indicates a potential upside of 7.62% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. William Blair raised Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Beam Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.10.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of BEAM stock opened at $27.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 14.57, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Beam Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $20.23 and a 12 month high of $38.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.74 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.10.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.17) by ($0.11). Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 30.71% and a negative net margin of 54.75%. The business had revenue of $0.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.10) EPS. The company's revenue was down 96.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $350,000. Privium Fund Management B.V. increased its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 91,282 shares of the company's stock worth $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 32.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 10.0% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 52,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,775 shares in the last quarter. 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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