Bernstein analyst William Pickering lowered the firm's price target on Beam Therapeutics to $39 from $40 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Biotech has had a strong start to 2026, up 11% year-to-date, outperforming Pharma and the S&P. The firm's coverage is up 7% year-to-date on a simple-average basis, and down 3% cap weighted - smaller names have outperformed. Overall, Bernstein maintains a positive view on the sector, as it expects M&A and IPO activity to remain healthy, and it views recent changes to FDA leadership as a tailwind, particularly for less mature companies.
