Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 57,310 Shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. $BEAM

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its Beam Therapeutics stake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 57,310 shares and ending with about 9.19 million shares valued at roughly $254.8 million.
• Insiders also sold stock: President Giuseppe Ciaramella and CEO John M. Evans each sold shares on April 1 under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, mainly to cover tax withholding tied to equity awards.
• Analysts remain mixed on BEAM, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.17, while the stock recently traded up 2.7% and reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and EPS.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,193,474 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,310 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.06% of Beam Therapeutics worth $254,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 11,038,834 shares of the company's stock worth $267,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190,993 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 10,063,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,232,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,830,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,242,000 after acquiring an additional 101,294 shares in the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 4,830,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,242,000 after acquiring an additional 103,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 237.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,665,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 11,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total value of $290,289.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 218,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,368,419.48. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total value of $739,317.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 79,544 shares of company stock valued at $1,899,942. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEAM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush upped their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Beam Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.17.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of BEAM opened at $32.32 on Friday. Beam Therapeutics Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.35 and a 1 year high of $36.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of -47.53 and a beta of 2.26.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.91) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.12. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 29.55% and a negative net margin of 39.66%.The business had revenue of $31.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.23) EPS. Beam Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 323.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

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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