Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Short Interest Down 6.1% in March

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,450,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the March 15th total of 14,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.7 days.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ BEAM traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 633,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,380,879. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.04. Beam Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $16.95 and a twelve month high of $49.50.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $2.42. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 35.09% and a negative return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $316.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.54) EPS. Beam Therapeutics’s revenue was up 1481.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics will post -5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity at Beam Therapeutics

In related news, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.33, for a total value of $1,519,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,058,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,805,776.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Beam Therapeutics news, insider Amy Simon sold 7,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.13, for a total transaction of $229,954.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 86,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,782,136.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.33, for a total transaction of $1,519,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,058,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,805,776.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,804 shares of company stock worth $4,731,669 in the last quarter. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 9,393,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,702,000 after acquiring an additional 609,998 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,164,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,028,000 after acquiring an additional 349,906 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 20.0% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,587,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,533,000 after acquiring an additional 350,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,358,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,187,000 after acquiring an additional 715,911 shares in the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

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.