Beam Therapeutics just downgraded at Jefferies, here’s why

Jefferies analyst Michael Yee downgraded Beam Therapeutics to Hold from Buy with a price target of $30, down from $75. The shares have rallied from $18 to $28 but 2024 is mostly a year of execution for Beam to show it can enroll the lead Phase I sickle cell program and disclose its first-in-human data on time in late 2024 in multiple patients, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Meanwhile, competitors’ gene editing launches in sickle cell could be slow as it takes months before patients to receive the infusion and revenue gets booked, and the investor enthusiasm has come down for gene editing and could be more muted for Beam, says the firm.