Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Beam Therapeutics was downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased concerns about the stock's performance.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" from analysts, with a current average target price of $46.40.
• Beam reported a net margin of -661.31% and a revenue decline of 28% compared to the same quarter last year, raising concerns about its financial health.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Beam Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of BEAM traded up $2.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.10. 3,823,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,779,244. Beam Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $13.52 and a 52 week high of $35.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -5.58 and a beta of 2.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.09.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.04. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 43.15% and a negative net margin of 661.31%.The company had revenue of $8.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.11) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Fmr Llc sold 48,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $991,667.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,073,665 shares in the company, valued at $42,510,132.50. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 49,624 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,628 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 7,080.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,478 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 79.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 20.4% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 1,248.8% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.68% of the company's stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

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.