Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Trading 3.7% Higher - Here's Why

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 3.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $17.99 and last traded at $18.30. Approximately 176,964 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,309,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank raised Beam Therapeutics from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $49.45.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.20 and a beta of 2.02.

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Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $30.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 41.07%. The company's revenue was down 90.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total transaction of $802,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 908,659 shares in the company, valued at $24,306,628.25. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christine Bellon sold 5,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $104,117.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,152,344.90. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,771 shares of company stock worth $1,605,698. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 816.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,143 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.