Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $130.90, but opened at $140.00. Sarepta Therapeutics shares last traded at $136.00, with a volume of 574,101 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.84. Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 43.11% and a negative return on equity of 18.97%. The firm had revenue of $413.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.44) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 63.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $108.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a "d" rating to a "c-" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $166.00 price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bilal Arif sold 2,000 shares of Sarepta Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.84, for a total transaction of $257,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,457,550.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kathryn Jean Boor sold 761 shares of Sarepta Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.93, for a total value of $93,549.73. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $923,941.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bilal Arif sold 2,000 shares of Sarepta Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.84, for a total transaction of $257,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,550.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,096 shares of company stock valued at $2,739,419 in the last three months. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sarepta Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRPT. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,741,485 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $457,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917,797 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sarepta Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $80,697,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Sarepta Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $50,990,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,344,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $418,935,000 after purchasing an additional 319,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $29,813,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.68% of the company's stock.

Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $125.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.56. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of -22.03 and a beta of 0.95.

About Sarepta Therapeutics

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapeutics, gene therapies, and other genetic therapeutic modalities for the treatment of rare diseases. It offers EXONDYS 51 injection to treat duchenne muscular dystrophy (duchenne) in patients with confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene that is amenable to exon 51 skipping; VYONDYS 53 for the treatment of duchenne in patients with confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene that is amenable to exon 53 skipping; AMONDYS 45 for the treatment of duchenne in patients with confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene; and ELEVIDYS, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy for the treatment of ambulatory pediatric patients aged 4 through 5 years with duchenne with a confirmed mutation in the duchenne gene.