Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Stock Lifted to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Beam Therapeutics from “strong sell” to “sell,” while broader analyst coverage remains more favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $49 price target.
• Beam opened at $24.50, with shares trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported a quarterly EPS loss of $1.18 and revenue of $0.49 million, sharply below expectations.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.68% of Beam’s stock, with major new positions recently established by BlackRock and ARCH Venture Management.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

BEAM has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. William Blair upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5%

Beam Therapeutics stock opened at $24.50 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $26.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a current ratio of 14.57. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -28.49 and a beta of 2.20. Beam Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $20.23 and a fifty-two week high of $38.26.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Beam Therapeutics

In other news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the 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 owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,815.04. This trade represents a 16.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $308,796,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $155,771,929. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,154,575 shares of the company's stock worth $51,327,000 after buying an additional 206,696 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,467,000. Finally, MWG Caph Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,119,000. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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