Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 28,328 Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BEAM. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $330,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,957,611 shares of the company's stock worth $98,149,000 after acquiring an additional 404,782 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,222 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Beam Therapeutics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 648,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,094,000 after purchasing an additional 19,453 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BEAM shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.75.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

BEAM traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.42. 2,383,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,432,509. Beam Therapeutics Inc. has a one year low of $13.53 and a one year high of $35.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $20.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.36. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.90 and a beta of 2.35.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by ($0.13). Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.07% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $7.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.21) earnings per share. Beam Therapeutics's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christine Bellon sold 5,674 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $104,117.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,152,344.90. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 7,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $136,413.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 190,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,490,463.60. This trade represents a 3.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,771 shares of company stock valued at $803,198. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Beam Therapeutics Profile

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.