This Just In: Analysts Are Boosting Their Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) Outlook for This Year

Celebrations may be in order for Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. Investor sentiment seems to be improving too, with the share price up 8.2% to US$21.14 over the past 7 days. Could this big upgrade push the stock even higher?

After the upgrade, the 14 analysts covering Beam Therapeutics are now predicting revenues of US$97m in 2023. If met, this would reflect a major 20% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are expected to increase substantially, hitting US$4.48 per share. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$78m and losses of US$5.04 per share in 2023. We can see there's definitely been a change in sentiment in this update, with the analysts administering a sizeable upgrade to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time reducing their loss estimates.

View our latest analysis for Beam Therapeutics

There was no major change to the consensus price target of US$54.38, perhaps suggesting that the analysts remain concerned about ongoing losses despite the improved earnings and revenue outlook.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that Beam Therapeutics' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 45% annualised growth rate until the end of 2023 being well below the historical 91% p.a. growth over the last three years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 15% per year. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Beam Therapeutics is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The highlight for us was that the consensus reduced its estimated losses this year, perhaps suggesting Beam Therapeutics is moving incrementally towards profitability. Fortunately, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling, but with a serious upgrade to this year's earnings expectations, it might be time to take another look at Beam Therapeutics.

Analysts are definitely bullish on Beam Therapeutics, but no company is perfect. Indeed, you should know that there are several potential concerns to be aware of, including dilutive stock issuance over the past year. You can learn more, and discover the 2 other risks we've identified, for free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.