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

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM)’s share price gapped up prior to trading 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEAM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.33 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 14.57 and a quick ratio of 14.57.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $16.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.00) earnings per share. Beam Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Amy Simon sold 16,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.74, for a total value of $429,008.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,815.04. This trade represents a 16.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Fmr Llc sold 251,488 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.26, for a total value of $8,867,466.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 854,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,132,596.58. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 301,527 shares of company stock worth $10,468,500. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BEAM. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $302,153,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $24,733,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,455,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,259,000. Finally, Elmind Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,347,920,000. Institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

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.