Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $42.00 target price on the stock.

BEAM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jones Trading raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank raised Beam Therapeutics from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Beam Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.45.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

BEAM opened at $22.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.62 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.89. Beam Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $20.84 and a 1 year high of $35.25.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by $0.16. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 16.22% and a negative net margin of 41.07%. The business had revenue of $30.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. Beam Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 90.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total value of $802,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 908,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,306,628.25. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $30,627.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,541,250.24. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $512,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 6.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 629,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,423,000 after purchasing an additional 36,226 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 282.0% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 43,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 32,130 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 145,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 53,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.68% of the company’s stock.

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.