Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT), a pioneer in precision genetic medicine for rare diseases, announced Monday that it had signed licensing agreements with the Broad Institutes of both MIT and Harvard.

The move comes after the company made progress on one of its sponsored research agreements involving Duchenne muscular dystrophy and various other neuromuscular and cardiac indications.

Sarepta submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA), which seeks accelerated approval to treat muscular dystrophy.

Bullish news for the stock, and for analyst Gianni Di Poce, who said his price target is $125-$126 on Sarepta in his weekly “Benzinga Pro Insider Report.” Di Poce, an analyst at research firm The Mercator, highlighted that RNA technology has undergone ground-breaking innovation in recent years, and that Sarepta is well-positioned to benefit from this development in the healthcare industry. Not to mention, according to Di Poce, “the emerging strength being displayed by the biotech sector is impossible to ignore at this point.”

In contrast to the S&P 500, which has lost 12.74% year-to-date but gained 1.48% since the beginning of August — the Nasdaq Biotechnology index, while down 11.07% year-to-date, has gained more than 10% in the same time frame.

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Sarepta booked $700 million in 2021, but lost $418.878 million overall.

“At a technical level, SRPT gapped up and broke out above a rounding bottom pattern,” Di Poce wrote. “A strong sign that upside momentum is set to accelerate.”

The company released its second-quarter earnings report on Aug. 2, which showed signs of growth. Quarterly sales came in at $233.49 million, beating the consensus estimates, while Sarepta posted losses of $1.18 per share, meeting the consensus estimates.

The company raised its 2022 sales guidance to $905-$920 million, up from a previously estimated $899.91 million.

Di Poce action plan: 18% return

“I am bullish on SRPT as long as the stock remains above $91.00-$92.00,” the analyst said. “Upside target $125.00-$126.00.”

Image courtesy of Sarepta Therapeutics