VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $1.31 Million in Beam Therapeutics Inc. $BEAM

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 38,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BEAM. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 3,228.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,586,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,093,000 after buying an additional 3,478,871 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 448.7% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 63,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,192,000 after buying an additional 52,238 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $535,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 3,470 shares during the period. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Beam Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Beam Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain bullish views. Wedbush reaffirmed its Buy/Outperform rating, while Canaccord Genuity and JonesTrading also maintained Buy ratings. Separately, the brokerage consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” supporting investor confidence in Beam’s pipeline and long-term prospects. Wedbush Reaffirms Their Buy Rating Wedbush Reiterates Outperform Rating Consensus Moderate Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: BEAM-302 data show sustained biomarker improvement. Updated Phase 1/2 results in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency indicated that the investigational treatment restored AAT levels, with biomarker follow-up extending to 18 months. The results strengthen the case for continued development, although the study remains early stage and clinical benefit has not yet been conclusively established. BEAM-302 Clinical Data Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity increased. Unusually large options trading was reported, which may signal heightened speculation or hedging but does not establish a clear directional outlook for BEAM. Unusually Large Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of a sharp increase in short interest showed zero shares both before and after the period, suggesting a data-quality issue rather than a meaningful change in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP is investigating potential investor claims. The law firm’s announcement may add legal and headline risk, although it does not allege that Beam has been found liable. Pomerantz Investor Investigation

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Beam Therapeutics news, insider Fmr Llc sold 251,488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.26, for a total transaction of $8,867,466.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 854,583 shares in the company, valued at $30,132,596.58. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total transaction of $429,008.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,815.04. This represents a 16.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 301,527 shares of company stock valued at $10,468,500 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:BEAM opened at $23.99 on Friday. Beam Therapeutics Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.23 and a 52-week high of $38.26. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.90 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a current ratio of 14.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.88.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.11) by ($0.07). Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 54.75% and a negative return on equity of 30.71%. The firm had revenue of $0.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.00) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing genetic medicines using its proprietary base-editing technology. Unlike conventional gene-editing approaches that can make double-strand breaks in DNA, base editing is designed to make targeted changes to individual DNA letters, with the goal of treating diseases at their genetic source.

The company is developing both ex vivo and in vivo therapies. Its pipeline has included programs for sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, glycogen storage disease type Ia and certain cancers.