Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Beam Therapeutics shares jumped 4.6%, opening at $28.41 after closing at $26.57. The stock’s average analyst rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $49.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were weaker than expected: it reported a loss of $1.18 per share versus the $1.11 estimate, while revenue fell 94.2% year over year to $0.49 million.
• Insiders sold more than 301,000 shares worth about $10.5 million over the past three months, although institutional investors own a substantial 99.68% of the stock.

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.57, but opened at $28.41. Beam Therapeutics shares last traded at $28.60, with a volume of 515,271 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BEAM. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 price target on Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Up 4.6%

The company has a current ratio of 14.57, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.74. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.33 and a beta of 2.23.

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

Insider Activity

In other Beam Therapeutics news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total transaction of $429,008.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,815.04. The trade was a 16.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $8,867,466.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 854,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,132,596.58. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 301,527 shares of company stock worth $10,468,500. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 10,100 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,948 shares of the company's stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 48.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,158 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 13,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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