Short Interest in Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Expands By 10.3%

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,310,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the October 15th total of 11,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 890,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.8 days.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ BEAM traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $24.17. The stock had a trading volume of 323,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,939. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.86. Beam Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $20.84 and a 1 year high of $49.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.89.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by ($0.01). Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.07% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $14.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.52 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.22) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Beam Therapeutics news, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $1,476,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 938,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,091,011.40. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 51,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total value of $1,347,259.60. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 109,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,194. This trade represents a 31.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,894 shares of company stock valued at $4,181,745. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEAM. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 75.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 7,913,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401,370 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,578,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,402,000 after acquiring an additional 413,892 shares during the period. ARCH Venture Management LLC purchased a new stake in Beam Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $127,530,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 12.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,929,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,274,000 after acquiring an additional 437,402 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 59.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,552,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,414 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 have issued reports on BEAM shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Beam Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Beam Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.91.

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.