Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAMGet Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,310,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the October 15th total of 11,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 890,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $27.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Beam Therapeutics from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.91.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on BEAM

Beam Therapeutics Stock Down 8.6 %

Shares of BEAM stock traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,258,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of -13.66 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.86. Beam Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $20.84 and a 12-month high of $49.50.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAMGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.01). Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 41.07%. The company had revenue of $14.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.22) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 51,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $1,347,259.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 109,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,194. This trade represents a 31.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $1,476,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 938,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,091,011.40. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,894 shares of company stock worth $4,181,745 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 2,648.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 200.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 21.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 350.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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