Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Trading 6.8% Higher - Here's Why

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $24.66 and last traded at $24.59. 257,865 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,227,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BEAM. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.18.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.66 and a beta of 1.85.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by $0.02. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 40.56%. The company had revenue of $11.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.08) earnings per share. Beam Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was down 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Beam Therapeutics

In other news, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $1,476,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 938,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,091,011.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 60,674 shares of company stock valued at $1,491,826 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brandywine Managers LLC purchased a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,164,876 shares of the company's stock worth $195,028,000 after buying an additional 349,906 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 144.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, DLK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $239,000. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Beam Therapeutics Company 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.