Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Up 14.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Beam Therapeutics Inc. shares surged by 14.5%, closing at $29.74, following a notable decline in trading volume.
• Analyst ratings vary, with Jefferies setting a target price at $41.00 while Barclays has lowered its target to $21.00, indicating a mix of confidence and caution in the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of ($1.00) EPS, beating expectations but with a substantial decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 14.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.85 and last traded at $29.74. Approximately 755,720 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 2,200,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on BEAM shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Beam Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.92.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $21.30 and its 200-day moving average is $19.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.80 and a beta of 2.25.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.04. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 661.31% and a negative return on equity of 43.15%. The company had revenue of $8.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.11) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Beam Therapeutics

In related news, insider Fmr Llc sold 48,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $991,667.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,073,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,510,132.50. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,480,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,060 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,026,701 shares of the company's stock worth $59,112,000 after buying an additional 1,273,559 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,871,292 shares of the company's stock worth $173,256,000 after buying an additional 1,249,303 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,101,000. Finally, EcoR1 Capital LLC bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $10,286,000. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Beam Therapeutics

Beam Therapeutics Inc, a biotechnology company, engages in the development of precision genetic medicines for patients suffering from serious diseases in the United States. It develops BEAM-101 for the treatment of sickle cell disease or beta-thalassemia; and BEAM-302, a liver-targeting LNP formulation to treat severe alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; BEAM-201, an anti-CD7 CAR-T product candidate, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma; and BEAM-301, a liver-targeting LNP formulation for the treatment of glycogen storage disease 1a.

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