Shares of Beam Therapeutics dropped to a three-year low after the company said it would reduce its workforce by about 20% to extend its cash runway.
The stock was down 13% at $18.01 in early trading. Shares have fallen by more than half since the start of the year and haven’t traded this low since the spring of 2020.
The biotechnology company said Thursday morning that it intends to cut its headcount by about 100 employees, or 20% of the workforce, by the end of the fourth quarter.
Beam expects to incur one-time costs of $6.6 million from the cuts, nearly all of which will be cash expenditures tied to severance payments.
The resulting cost savings and Beam’s cash, cash equivalents and investment securities should be enough to fund the company’s operating plan into 2026, the company said.