Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Stock Price Down 8% – Should You Sell?

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM)’s stock price dropped 8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $29.64 and last traded at $29.2940. Approximately 400,179 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,025,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BEAM. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Beam Therapeutics from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Beam Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Tudor Pickering set a $39.00 target price on Beam Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.83.

Beam Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.45 and its 200 day moving average is $27.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.82 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 16.99 and a quick ratio of 16.99.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $31.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.98 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 29.00% and a negative net margin of 39.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 323.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.23) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Beam Therapeutics

In related news, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 11,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $290,289.80. Following the sale, the president owned 218,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,419.48. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Amy Simon sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $164,686.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 102,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,226.30. The trade was a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,544 shares of company stock worth $1,899,942. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 4,370.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Beam Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Beam Therapeutics by 48.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 99.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Beam Therapeutics Company Profile

Beam Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: BEAM) is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing precision genetic medicines through its pioneering base editing platform. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional research facilities in Philadelphia, the company focuses on engineering molecular editors capable of making precise single-nucleotide changes in DNA. By harnessing its proprietary base editing technology, Beam aims to correct or disrupt disease-causing genetic variants at their source, offering the potential for novel therapies in areas with significant unmet medical need.

Founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Harvard University and the Broad and Whitehead Institutes, Beam was co-founded by leading academic researcher David R.