Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Earns Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush’s target price points to a potential upside of 176.95% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Beam Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.10.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

BEAM opened at $23.47 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.29 and a beta of 2.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.62. Beam Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $20.23 and a 52-week high of $38.26.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $0.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.00) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 94.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Evans sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $589,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,047,205 shares in the company, valued at $24,682,621.85. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,815.04. The trade was a 16.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 123.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines using base editing, a technology designed to make targeted changes to DNA without cutting both strands of the DNA double helix. The company’s platform is intended to address diseases caused by specific genetic mutations and to support the development of potentially durable treatments.

Beam’s research and development activities focus on areas including hematology, liver diseases and genetic disorders.