Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Stock Price Up 6.7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Beam Therapeutics shares rose 6.7% on Wednesday, trading as high as $33.00 and closing around $33.06, though volume was far below normal.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target price of $46.83, and several firms recently raised their price targets.
• The company’s latest earnings showed strong revenue growth, with quarterly revenue of $31.74 million, up 323.2% year over year, and EPS of -$0.91 beating expectations despite ongoing losses.

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 6.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.00 and last traded at $33.0580. Approximately 126,958 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,005,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEAM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 price objective on Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.83.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of -49.76 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 16.99 and a quick ratio of 16.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.22.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.12. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 39.66% and a negative return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $31.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.23) EPS. The company's revenue was up 323.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Beam Therapeutics

In other Beam Therapeutics news, insider Christine Bellon sold 5,956 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $146,398.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 109,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,696,696.38. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,078 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $739,317.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,047,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,740,298.90. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 79,544 shares of company stock worth $1,899,942 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 4,370.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 48.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.