BMO Capital Markets sees a big year ahead for biotech company Beam Therapeutics . Analyst Kostas Biliouris upgraded shares to outperform from market perform, saying he expects updates next year on a key partnership will drive upside for the gene-editing technology company. The analyst also hiked his price target on the stock to $66 from $61, implying upside of 64.6% from Monday’s close. “Although we have always been positive on Beam’s base editing technology, we remained on the sidelines due to lack of near-term stock-moving catalysts from Beam’s pipeline,” Biliouris wrote in a note Tuesday. “In 2023, however, we expect two key catalysts from Beam’s partner Verve to drive upside in BEAM, while incremental updates from Beam’s pipeline programs and/ or new partnership announcements can also drive BEAM higher,” Biliouris added. Beam has a partnership with biotech company Verve Therapeutics , which is using Beam’s base editing technology for its VERVE-101 program. VERVE-101 is a gene-editing therapy that targets the liver to reverse high cholesterol and treat cardiovascular disease. “In 2023, we expect Verve to provide updates on: (1) Management’s response to FDA on VERVE-101 clinical hold (potentially in ~mid-2023); and (2) The first clinical data from VERVE-101 that derisk base editing (in 2H23),” Biliouris wrote. “We believe these catalysts will have a direct readthrough on BEAM, each driving a ~10%+ upside (stock moves here).” The analyst also expects that new developments in Beam’s own pipeline could boost the stock. Shares of Beam Therapeutics are down more than 49% in 2022, while Verve Therapeutics is off by about 51%. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
