Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Stock Price Target Lowered at Wedbush

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Wedbush from $65.00 to $28.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wedbush‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.37% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BEAM. William Blair upgraded Beam Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.40.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Up 6.7%

NASDAQ:BEAM traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.57. 344,939 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,019,526. Beam Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $20.23 and a fifty-two week high of $38.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.21.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.11) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $0.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.00) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Evans sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $589,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047,205 shares in the company, valued at $24,682,621.85. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEAM. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 15.6% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 4,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 123.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 0.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 180,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 7.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 1,372.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines for patients with serious diseases. The company’s platform uses base editing, a form of gene editing designed to make targeted changes to individual DNA letters without creating double-strand breaks. Beam is also advancing related editing technologies and delivery systems intended to improve the precision and effectiveness of genetic treatments.

Beam’s pipeline includes investigational programs for diseases such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and glycogen storage disease type Ia.