Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Beam Therapeutics a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Ten of 13 analysts recommend buying the stock, with an average 12-month price target of $49, versus a recent price of $24.37.
• Recent financial results were weaker than expected: Beam reported a quarterly loss of $1.18 per share, missing estimates by $0.07, while revenue fell 94.2% year over year to $0.49 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Insiders sold 301,527 shares worth approximately $10.5 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 99.68% of the company.

Shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BEAM shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Down 3.2%

BEAM stock opened at $24.37 on Friday. Beam Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $19.57 and a 12 month high of $38.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.72 and its 200 day moving average is $28.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -28.34 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 14.57 and a quick ratio of 14.57.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $0.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 94.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.00) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Beam Therapeutics

In related news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total value of $429,008.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,205,815.04. This represents a 16.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Fmr Llc sold 251,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 854,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,132,596.58. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 301,527 shares of company stock valued at $10,468,500. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Beam Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 4,370.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 99.68% of the stock is currently 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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