Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Up 11.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Beam Therapeutics shares jumped 11.3% to about $27.70 on trading volume 25% above average, lifting its market capitalization to approximately $2.93 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.40, although Wedbush recently cut its target to $28 and Weiss Ratings maintains a sell rating.
• The company reported weak quarterly results, including a $1.18 per-share loss, revenue of just $0.49 million—down 94.2% year over year—and continued negative profitability; its pipeline focuses on precision genetic medicines for serious diseases.

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) traded up 11.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $27.92 and last traded at $27.7030. 2,530,090 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the average daily volume of 2,030,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BEAM. Wedbush dropped their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $65.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. William Blair raised shares of Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Beam Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Up 14.1%

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 market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.00 and a beta of 2.20. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $25.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Evans sold 25,000 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $589,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,047,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,682,621.85. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $11,037,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,309,000. Canal Insurance CO acquired a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $953,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,717,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.68% of the company's stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines for patients with serious diseases. The company's platform uses base editing, a form of gene editing designed to make targeted changes to individual DNA letters without creating double-strand breaks. Beam is also advancing related editing technologies and delivery systems intended to improve the precision and effectiveness of genetic treatments.

Beam's pipeline includes investigational programs for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and glycogen storage disease type Ia.

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