Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) Trading Down 9% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) traded down 9% during trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $16.41 and last traded at $17.2570. 1,315,844 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 2,631,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.97.

The biotechnology company reported ($3.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by ($2.71). Sarepta Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 38.34% and a negative return on equity of 49.42%. The firm had revenue of $442.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sarepta Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sarepta Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat estimates in Q4 ($442.9M vs. ~$391M consensus), which partially offsets earnings weakness and suggests underlying commercial traction outside the challenged product. Sarepta Q4 Loss Wider Than Expected, Sales Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo kept an “overweight” rating on SRPT, implying continued analyst conviction in the story despite lowering its price target to $38 (from $45), signaling potential upside from current levels. Wells Fargo Lowers Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Sarepta expanded non-market PR and community programs — opening applications for the Route 79 Duchenne scholarship — which supports brand and patient-community relations but is unlikely to move near-term valuation. Sarepta Announces Route 79 Scholarship
• Neutral Sentiment: Sarepta plans to present long-term and safety data at the upcoming MDA conference — data releases could be material but timing and contents are uncertain. Sarepta to Present Long-Term Data at MDA
• Negative Sentiment: Large Q4 EPS miss: reported EPS was far worse than consensus (reported loss −$3.58 vs. est. −$0.87), driven by a steep decline in ELEVIDYS sales and a wider net loss, increasing short-term revenue and margin uncertainty. Sarepta Q4 Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Douglas Ingram announced he will retire by year-end (or upon his replacement), introducing leadership transition risk at a sensitive time for product recovery and strategy execution. Reuters: Sarepta CEO Ingram to Retire
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional selling: AXQ Capital materially trimmed its SRPT stake (large percentage reduction), which can add selling pressure and signal reduced conviction among some holders. AXQ Capital Lowers Position in Sarepta

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SRPT. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Sarepta Therapeutics from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Sarepta Therapeutics from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Ian Michael Estepan sold 13,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.31, for a total transaction of $294,201.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 193,300 shares in the company, valued at $4,312,523. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sarepta Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,810,729 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $254,167,000 after purchasing an additional 993,283 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 454.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,796,535 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $167,781,000 after buying an additional 6,390,860 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,728,945 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,727,000 after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,251,593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,454,000 after buying an additional 268,829 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sarepta Therapeutics by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,577 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,880,000 after acquiring an additional 52,796 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.68% of the company’s stock.

Sarepta Therapeutics Trading Down 4.0%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of -1.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

About Sarepta Therapeutics

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.