Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) to “Overweight”

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) was upgraded by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Leerink Partners upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $27.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ BEAM opened at $27.28 on Wednesday. Beam Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $20.84 and a fifty-two week high of $49.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.50 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.76.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.52 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.07% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The business’s revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.22) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Beam Therapeutics

In related news, insider Christine Bellon sold 1,241 shares of Beam Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,541,250.24. This trade represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 51,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $1,347,259.60. Following the transaction, the president now owns 109,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,194. This represents a 31.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Beam Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEAM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 21.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 84.0% during the 3rd 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. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 350.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $98,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Beam Therapeutics by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.