Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) Shares Up 8.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Sarepta shares jumped 8.2% to about $19.18 in mid-day trading, though trading volume was 68% below the daily average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed to negative: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a $22.59 price target, with recent targets ranging from $5 to $27.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but revenue fell 34.3% year over year and Sarepta reported a negative net margin; institutional investors own 86.68% of the stock.

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 8.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $19.05 and last traded at $19.1810. Approximately 982,982 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 3,087,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SRPT shares. Benchmark reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $22.59.

Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 2.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of -6.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.38.

Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.42. Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 1.60% and a negative net margin of 13.48%. The firm had revenue of $401.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $366.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 34.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sarepta Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,751 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,787 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.68% of the company's stock.

About Sarepta Therapeutics

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: SRPT is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing precision genetic medicines for rare diseases. Its research programs include RNA-based therapies, gene therapy and other genetic medicine approaches designed to address the underlying causes of serious genetic disorders.

The company's primary commercial focus has been Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Sarepta markets Exondys 51, Vyondys 53 and Amondys 45, exon-skipping therapies for certain patients with DMD mutations, as well as Elevidys, a gene therapy for eligible patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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