Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) Now Covered by Barclays

Investment analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 9.79% from the company’s current price.

SRPT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $21.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sarepta Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush upped their price target on Sarepta Therapeutics from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sarepta Therapeutics from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sarepta Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.84.

Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:SRPT opened at $22.17 on Wednesday. Sarepta Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $10.41 and a 52-week high of $120.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.37, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.15). Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 4.85% and a negative net margin of 11.25%.The company had revenue of $399.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sarepta Therapeutics will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sarepta Therapeutics

In other news, COO Ian Michael Estepan sold 13,187 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.31, for a total transaction of $294,201.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 193,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,312,523. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sarepta Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sarepta Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,817,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $208,452,000 after buying an additional 1,657,267 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 65.7% in the third quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,685,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,530 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,251,593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,454,000 after purchasing an additional 268,829 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,939,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,875,997 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,085,000 after purchasing an additional 55,076 shares in the last quarter. 86.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sarepta Therapeutics Company Profile

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of precision genetic medicines for rare neuromuscular diseases. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sarepta’s core expertise lies in designing RNA-targeted therapies and gene therapies that address underlying genetic mutations. The company’s mission is to transform the treatment paradigm for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and related disorders through innovative modalities.

Sarepta’s commercial products include several exon-skipping therapies approved by the U.S.