Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,020,000 shares, a decrease of 7.1% from the January 15th total of 10,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total transaction of $802,500.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $30,627.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,541,250.24. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEAM. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 9,597 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,999 shares of the company's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,396 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 11,438 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.68% of the company's stock.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Down 2.8 %

BEAM traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $33.14. 1,252,921 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,240,744. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.77. Beam Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $20.84 and a 52-week high of $49.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of -18.83 and a beta of 1.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on BEAM shares. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners raised Beam Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Beam Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Beam Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.67.

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.