Beam Therapeutics Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BEAM) Prospects Need A Boost To Lift Shares

Beam Therapeutics Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BEAM) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 6.2x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 9.9x and even P/S above 60x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

See our latest analysis for Beam Therapeutics

What Does Beam Therapeutics' Recent Performance Look Like?

With revenue growth that's inferior to most other companies of late, Beam Therapeutics has been relatively sluggish. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance isn't going to get any better. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Beam Therapeutics.

How Is Beam Therapeutics' Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Beam Therapeutics would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, we see the company's revenues grew exponentially. Spectacularly, three year revenue growth has also set the world alight, thanks to the last 12 months of incredible growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a tremendous job of growing revenue over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should bring diminished returns, with revenue decreasing 43% per year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 131% per annum.

With this information, we are not surprised that Beam Therapeutics is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

What Does Beam Therapeutics' P/S Mean For Investors?

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

With revenue forecasts that are inferior to the rest of the industry, it's no surprise that Beam Therapeutics' P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless there's material change, it's hard to envision a situation where the stock price will rise drastically.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Beam Therapeutics (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Beam Therapeutics, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.