Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $106.62, but opened at $110.46. Sarepta Therapeutics shares last traded at $109.60, with a volume of 196,036 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SRPT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $226.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Sarepta Therapeutics from $176.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sarepta Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.33.

Sarepta Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $122.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ian Michael Estepan sold 5,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.36, for a total transaction of $822,099.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $4,662,822.56. This trade represents a 14.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Sarepta Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $31,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 446.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 284 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Sarepta Therapeutics by 150.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 291 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.68% of the company’s stock.

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.