Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,950,000 shares, a drop of 6.4% from the May 31st total of 13,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BEAM. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $42.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, TheStreet raised Beam Therapeutics from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.18.

Beam Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Beam Therapeutics stock traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, reaching $22.57. The company had a trading volume of 881,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,168. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.68 and a beta of 1.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.79. Beam Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $16.95 and a 1 year high of $49.50.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.21) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $7.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.09 million. Beam Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 15.46% and a negative net margin of 37.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 69.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.33) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics will post -4.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Beam Therapeutics

In other news, CEO John M. Evans sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $1,470,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 998,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,459,403.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,578,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,402,000 after acquiring an additional 413,892 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,511,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,068,000 after acquiring an additional 406,000 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in Beam Therapeutics by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,358,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,093,000 after acquiring an additional 715,911 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.