Beam Therapeutics (BEAM – Research Report), the Healthcare sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst on March 21. Analyst Yanan Zhu from Wells Fargo maintained a Buy rating on the stock and has a $75.00 price target.
Yanan Zhu has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors surrounding Beam Therapeutics’ strategic positioning and rights to key technologies. Beam Therapeutics holds exclusive rights to prime editing technology for making specific genetic edits, which positions them advantageously in the treatment of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD). This exclusivity stems from a 2019 agreement with Prime Medicine, ensuring Beam’s control over transition type edits necessary for correcting the E342K mutation, a critical aspect of AATD therapy.
Furthermore, the potential competitive threat from Prime Medicine’s recent announcement to pursue an AATD program does not undermine Beam’s position. The contract between Beam and Prime Medicine restricts the latter from making transition edits, which are essential for the E342K mutation correction. Additionally, the prevalence of the D341H variant, which could theoretically bypass the contract, is extremely low, further solidifying Beam’s strategic advantage in this area. These factors collectively underpin Zhu’s positive outlook on Beam Therapeutics’ stock.
According to TipRanks, Zhu is an analyst with an average return of -8.0% and a 24.88% success rate. Zhu covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Sangamo Biosciences, Avidity Biosciences, and Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
In another report released on March 13, Citi also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $64.00 price target.
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