Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT)

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 4,625 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average volume of 3,153 call options.

Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6%

SRPT traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $16.68. 555,785 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,100,089. Sarepta Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $14.68 and a 52-week high of $25.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 4.63 and a quick ratio of 2.62. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.75, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.52.

Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $2.18. Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 13.48% and a negative return on equity of 1.66%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($3.42) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sarepta Therapeutics will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Sarepta Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 200.0% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 2,098.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,803 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRPT. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sarepta Therapeutics from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Sarepta Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.06.

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.