Sarepta's Beat And Raise Streak Continues

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT gained more than 1 percent on Thursday after the company reported its third consecutive beat and raise earnings report, analysts at Cowen said in a research report. The firm's Ritu Baral,/a> maintains an Outperform rating on Sarepta's stock with an unchanged $69 price target.

Sarepta reported revenue from its Exondys 51 therapy rose 31 percent from the prior quarter to $46.0 million, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $40.2 million and the $38.3 million the analyst was modeling. The "robust" revenue numbers should be viewed as evidence of both "strong compliance and persistence as well as continued new patient starts through 2017 and at least early 2018," the analyst wrote. This view could be reinforced in upcoming data from a phase 1/2 '204 non-ambulatory boys in the fourth quarter, which could show "compelling evidence for broader coverage." Related Links: Sarepta's Upside Story Is Just Getting Started Sarepta Marks A 'Very Important Day' For The DMD Community

The beat likely contributed to management boosting its full-year 2017 revenue guidance from a prior range of $125 million to $130 million to a new range of $150 million to $155 million.

Finally, the company ended the quarter with $618.4 million in cash, which is sufficient to fund the company's operations through 2020, including a potential European Union approval of Exondys 51 in the first half of 2018, the analyst wrote.