Sarepta Analysts Turn Bullish After Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Drug Eteplirsen Gets Approval

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT soared higher by more than 80 percent Monday and hit a new 52-week high of $56.18. Traders turned uber-bullish on the stock after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an accelerated approval for its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) drug called Eteplirsen.

Wall Street analysts were quick to react following the announcement.

Analysts at Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the stock, but boosted its price target to $76 from $60. The analysts noted that while the FDA's decision was in-line with its expectations, Eteplirsen revenue will begin to flow in the fourth quarter while its Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review voucher could be worth up to $350 million.

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The research team at William Blair upgraded Sarepta's stock to Outperform from Market Perform with an $88 price target. Of note, the analysts argued the FDA's decision marks the end to an ongoing regulatory saga in which the company saw its drug fail to gain regulatory approval in the past.

Similarly, analysts at Janney Capital upgraded Sarepta's stock to Buy from Neutral and established a new $65 price target. The analysts cited Sarepta's total addressable market of 4,000 patients worldwide, which could derive peak sales in excess of $1 billion.

Elsewhere on the Street, analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded Sarepta to Overweight from Neutral, while analysts at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey weren't as bullish as they upgraded the stock to Neutral from Reduce.