Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.8333.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 price target on Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of BEAM opened at $34.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.19 and a beta of 2.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.73 and a 200-day moving average of $28.66. The company has a current ratio of 16.99, a quick ratio of 16.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Beam Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $15.60 and a 52 week high of $36.88.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $31.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.98 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 29.00% and a negative net margin of 39.66%.The business’s revenue was up 323.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.23) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 11,810 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the president owned 218,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,419.48. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,740,298.90. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 79,544 shares of company stock worth $1,899,942. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 12,467,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428,355 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 10,063,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,232,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,228,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,935,000 after buying an additional 1,219,871 shares in the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $117,242,000 after buying an additional 103,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,730,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,684,000 after buying an additional 467,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

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.