First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. $SRPT

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,939,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,312,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.99% of Sarepta Therapeutics worth $37,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 4,033.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 72,705 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after buying an additional 70,946 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Sarepta Therapeutics by 59.6% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,982,764 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,208,000 after acquiring an additional 740,360 shares in the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sarepta Therapeutics by 309.1% in the second quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 675,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,542,000 after acquiring an additional 510,000 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 870.3% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 82,979 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 74,427 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 109.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 468,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,020,000 after acquiring an additional 244,181 shares during the period. 86.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sarepta Therapeutics

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

Sarepta Therapeutics Price Performance

Sarepta Therapeutics stock opened at $17.04 on Friday. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.41 and a 52 week high of $103.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of -2.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.42.

Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($3.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by ($2.71). The business had revenue of $442.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.95 million. Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 38.34% and a negative return on equity of 50.74%. The business’s revenue was down 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $34.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $31.00 target price on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.15.

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.