Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh weighed in bullishly today on Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT), calling the biopharmaceutical stock "a key SMID-cap pick in our coverage universe." In a note to clients, Singh said, "We do not see any meaningful competition to SRPT's [Duchenne muscular dystrophy] franchise for another 3-5 years," and reiterated both his "outperform" rating and a $76 price target on the shares.
It's been a blowout year for Sarepta stock, with the drugmaker's shares more than doubling in value over the course of 2017. SRPT has been consolidating some gains just below $57 since early November, but support from its rising 50-day moving average remains firmly intact. Out of the gate this morning, the security isn't showing any immediate signs of breaking out above its short-term ceiling; SRPT is just fractionally higher at $56.70.
Singh's price target, meanwhile, stands about 35% north of current levels, and in territory the stock hasn't touched since January 2002. It's a somewhat loftier target than the consensus, as SRPT's average 12-month price target checks in at $69.47.
However, bullish analyst ratings are nothing new for the stock. Among the 15 brokerage firms tracking SRPT, no fewer than 14 call it a "buy" or "strong buy," with just a single "hold" rounding out the ratings.
Sarepta Therapeutics has yet to win over the shorts, though. Short interest rose by 29.2% over the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for 23.5% of the stock's float. At SRPT's average daily trading volume, it would take 8.4 days for all of these shorted shares to be covered.