Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL) Rating Lowered to "Neutral" at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler downgraded Replimune from "overweight" to "neutral" and set a $4.00 price target, implying roughly a 16% downside from the recent share price.
• FDA declined to approve Replimune’s advanced skin‑cancer drug, sparking heightened volatility, heavy trading and increased put activity that pressured the stock (REPL traded down to $4.77 on high volume).

Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Piper Sandler from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday. They currently have a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler's target price points to a potential downside of 16.16% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on REPL. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Replimune Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Replimune Group from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.75.

Replimune Group Stock Performance

REPL stock traded down $1.14 on Friday, hitting $4.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,941,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,107. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $393.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.74. Replimune Group has a 1 year low of $2.68 and a 1 year high of $13.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.89.

Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.08. Equities analysts predict that Replimune Group will post -2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher Sarchi sold 6,500 shares of Replimune Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.01, for a total transaction of $52,065.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 151,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,214,219.88. The trade was a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Replimune Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in REPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Replimune Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Replimune Group by 3,638.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 7,569 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Replimune Group by 248.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Replimune Group by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,762 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Replimune Group in the second quarter worth $69,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Replimune Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Replimune Group this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple trading halts and volatility intraday — REPL experienced several LULD pauses and a “news pending” halt as markets reacted to developing regulatory news, indicating heightened volatility and potential order imbalances.
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-decision market commentary — media pieces flagged the FDA decision day as a key test for melanoma-focused biotechs, framing investor expectations and contributing to pre-market positioning and volatility. REPL vs IOVA: FDA decision day could test biotech bulls’ conviction on these melanoma plays
• Negative Sentiment: FDA declined to approve Replimune’s advanced skin‑cancer drug — the regulator’s decision is the primary negative catalyst and directly pressures near‑term revenue/approval timelines and investor confidence. US FDA declines to approve Replimune's drug for advanced skin cancer
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put option activity — investors bought ~3,868 put contracts (≈29% above average), signaling increased bearish positioning and downside hedging ahead of/after the FDA action, which can amplify downward pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling reported — recent insider sales were highlighted by media, which investors often view as a negative signal for near‑term insider conviction and can weigh on sentiment. Replimune Group NASDAQ: REPL Shares Down 6.7% Following Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and technical pressure — coverage noted REPL was set for its largest drop in months ahead of the FDA decision; combined with elevated volume and the recent trading halts, technical selling momentum may persist. REPL stock on track for worst drop in nearly 7 months ahead of FDA decision on skin cancer drug

About Replimune Group

Replimune Group, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on developing next‐generation oncolytic immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. The company's proprietary “RP” platform leverages genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) vectors armed with immunomodulatory payloads to selectively infect, replicate within and destroy cancer cells, while also stimulating systemic antitumor immune responses.

Replimune's lead candidate, RP1, incorporates GM-CSF and a fusogenic protein to enhance both direct oncolysis and immune activation.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.