Guggenheim Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM)

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price indicates a potential upside of 196.13% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.90.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of BEAM opened at $26.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of -14.97 and a beta of 1.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.92. Beam Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $20.84 and a 52 week high of $45.05.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.25) by $0.16. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.07% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $30.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Beam Therapeutics’s revenue was down 90.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.75, for a total transaction of $802,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 908,659 shares in the company, valued at $24,306,628.25. This represents a 3.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,968 shares in the company, valued at $2,541,250.24. This trade 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 Investors Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 84.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 21.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 62.4% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares during the period. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.