Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT 1.08%) saw a lot of love from the market as the trading week kicked off on Monday. Investors pushed the stock almost 5% higher in price, a move due in no small part to an analyst's considerable price target raise. Sarepta's gain trounced that of the S&P 500 index, which bumped almost 0.3% higher on the day.
JPMorgan Chase gets more bullish on Sarepta
Before market open, JPMorgan Chase prognosticator Anupam Rama reset his price target on Sarepta to $177 per share. That's well above his previous level of $112. Not surprisingly, he maintained his overweight (buy, in other words) recommendation on the veteran biotech company.
In his research note detailing the change, Rama wrote of the opportunity presented by the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Sarepta has won approval for several medications for the disorder and has more currently in development.
The analyst waxed bullish about one of these drugs in particular, Elevidys. Some investors have been skittish about the company because the treatment's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2023 covered a narrower patient population than Sarepta was hoping for. Compounding that, recent clinical trial results for the drug were disappointing. Yet Rama feels that there is a chance that the scope of the approval will widen.
Elevated expectations for Elevidys
Much hinges on the future of Elevidys, as that less-than-inspiring performance led to a big Sarepta sell-off on the market. Since then, however, the stock has been inching up gradually; like Rama, we can expect that to accelerate if better regulatory news comes down the pipe for the DMD treatment.
