Shares of Beam Therapeutics Inc. BEAM were down 4.7% on Jul 15 after it announced that its current chief financial officer (CFO), Terry-Ann Burrell, is stepping down from her role effective Aug 9, 2024.
As part of the leadership transition process, the company is now looking for a new CFO.
Terry-Ann Burrell will now take up the role of vice chairman of investment banking at JPMorgan Chase.
Terry-Ann Burrell has been an integral part of BEAM’s evolution into a leading gene editing company aimed at developing precision genetic medicines through base editing.
BEAM’s pipeline of gene editing therapies is based on its proprietary base editing technology. The company is advancing its base editing technology across three disease area portfolios, namely, hematology, immunology/oncology and genetic diseases.
Year to date, shares of Beam Therapeutics have lost 5.8% compared with the industry’s decline of 2.7%.
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The company is evaluating its leading ex-vivo genome-editing candidate, BEAM-101, in the phase I/II BEACON study for the treatment of adult patients with sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder.
Dosing and engraftment for the three patients in the sentinel cohort of the BEACON study have been completed. Data from multiple patients in the study is expected in the second half of 2024.
Apart from hemoglobinopathy candidates, BEAM is also expanding its genetic disease pipeline by developing BEAM-301 and BEAM-302.
Last month, the company dosed the first patient in a phase I/II study to evaluate BEAM-302 for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The study is designed to identify the optimal dosage of BEAM-302.
The company will file an investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA to begin clinical studies on BEAM-302 in the United States shortly.
BEAM is also planning to initiate a clinical study on BEAM-301 for the treatment of glycogen storage disease 1a in the United States. An IND application for BEAM-301 is expected to be filed shortly.
With some clinical milestones expected later in the year, it remains to be seen how the leadership transition helps Beam Therapeutics in developing a differentiated class of precision genetic medicines and driving long-term growth.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Beam Therapeutics currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP, Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation ADPT and RAPT Therapeutics, Inc. RAPT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past 60 days, estimates for ANI Pharmaceuticals 2024 earnings per share have improved from $4.41 to $4.44. Earnings per share estimates for 2025 have improved from $4.85 to $5.42. Year to date, shares of ANIP have jumped 14.7%.
ANIP’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 53.90%.
In the past 60 days, estimates for Adaptive Biotechnologies’ 2024 loss per share have narrowed from $1.30 to $1.29, while loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from $1.08 to $1.02. Year to date, shares of ADPT have lost 17.7%.
ADPT’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, meeting the same once and missing on the remaining occasion, the average surprise being 0.65%.
In the past 60 days, estimates for RAPT Therapeutics’ 2024 loss per share have narrowed from $2.94 to $2.93. Loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from $2.06 to $2.05. Year to date, shares of RAPT have plunged 85.7%.
RAPT’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters while missing the same on the remaining two occasions, the average surprise being 3.19%.
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