Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Short Interest Up 9.2% in March

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,320,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the February 29th total of 13,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.1 days.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of BEAM stock traded down $2.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.55. 1,896,066 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,440. Beam Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $16.95 and a fifty-two week high of $49.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.76 and its 200-day moving average is $27.76. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 1.77.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $2.42. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 15.90% and a negative net margin of 35.09%. The firm had revenue of $316.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.54) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1481.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -5.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.86, for a total value of $2,031,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 998,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,801,151.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Fmr Llc sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.76, for a total transaction of $48,139.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,771,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,264,043.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.86, for a total value of $2,031,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 998,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,801,151.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 123,472 shares of company stock valued at $3,649,922. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEAM. State Street Corp increased its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,336,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,781 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,350,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,104 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,174,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,153,000 after acquiring an additional 927,970 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,358,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,187,000 after acquiring an additional 715,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in Beam Therapeutics by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,358,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,093,000 after acquiring an additional 715,911 shares during the period. 99.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America downgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

About Beam Therapeutics

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.