Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.57, but opened at $28.41. Beam Therapeutics shares last traded at $28.60, with a volume of 515,271 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Down 2.3%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.01 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 14.57 and a current ratio of 14.57.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last released 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 company had revenue of $0.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.00) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Beam Therapeutics news, insider Fmr Llc sold 251,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.26, for a total value of $8,867,466.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 854,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,132,596.58. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were 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 $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 301,527 shares of company stock worth $10,468,500. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEAM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 4,370.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 99.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: BEAM) is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing precision genetic medicines through its pioneering base editing platform. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional research facilities in Philadelphia, the company focuses on engineering molecular editors capable of making precise single-nucleotide changes in DNA. By harnessing its proprietary base editing technology, Beam aims to correct or disrupt disease-causing genetic variants at their source, offering the potential for novel therapies in areas with significant unmet medical need.

Founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Harvard University and the Broad and Whitehead Institutes, Beam was co-founded by leading academic researcher David R.