Beam Therapeutics BEAM reported a loss of $1.09 per share for the fourth quarter of 2024, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.10. The company had recorded earnings of $1.73 per share in the year-ago quarter.

See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.

Total revenues, comprising license and collaboration revenues, came in at $30.1 million in the fourth quarter compared with $316.2 million reported in the year-ago period. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21 million.

In the past year, shares of Beam Therapeutics have plunged 33.8% compared with the industry’s decline of 9.7%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

More on BEAM's Q4 Results

Research and development expenses were $101.4 million in the fourth quarter, down almost 27.6% from the year-ago quarter’s level.

General and administrative expenses totaled $28.7 million, decreasing around 33.7% year over year.

As of Dec 31, 2024, Beam Therapeutics had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities worth $850.7 million compared with $925.8 million as of Sept. 30, 2024. The company expects its existing cash balance to likely fund its operating expenses into 2027.

BEAM's Full-Year Results

For 2024, Beam Therapeutics generated revenues of $63.5 million, compared with $377.7 million recorded in the year-ago quarter.

For the same period, the company reported an adjusted loss of $4.58 per share, wider than a loss of $1.72 per share reported in the year-ago period.

BEAM's Pipeline Updates

The company is developing 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 (SCD).

In December 2024, the company announced new safety and efficacy data from the BEACON study evaluating BEAM-101 in SCD patients with severe vaso-occlusive crises.

The data showed that treatment with BEAM-101 led to a robust and durable increase in fetal hemoglobin and a reduction in sickle hemoglobin.

Treatment with BEAM-101 also demonstrated rapid neutrophil and platelet engraftment and normalized or improved markers of hemolysis in the given patient population.

The company plans to present updated data from the BEACON study in mid-2025.

Beam Therapeutics is also expanding its genetic disease pipeline by developing BEAM-301 and BEAM-302 for treating glycogen storage disease type 1a (GSD1a) and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), respectively.

Patient dosing in the phase I/II study evaluating BEAM-301 for treating GSD1a is expected to begin shortly.

The company is developing BEAM-302 in a phase I/II dose-escalation study for treating AATD. Initial data from multiple cohorts of the study are expected in the first half of 2025.

BEAM's 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 argenx SE ARGX, and Pacira BioSciences, Inc. PCRX, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the past 60 days, estimates for argenx’s earnings per share have increased from $9.07 to $10.85 for 2025. In the past year, shares of ARGX have risen 52%.

ARGX’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters while missing the same on the remaining two occasions, the average surprise being 339.37%.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Pacira BioSciences’ earnings per share have increased from $2.79 to $3.59 for 2025. In the past year, shares of PCRX have decreased 15.8%.

PCRX’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, met the same once and missed the same on the remaining occasion, the average surprise being 7.13%.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (BEAM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (PCRX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

argenex SE (ARGX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research