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On Wednesday, H.C. Wainwright analysts reiterated a Sell rating on Sarepta Therapeutics stock (NASDAQ:SRPT).
The firm's analysis follows Sarepta's recent pre-announcement of its fourth-quarter 2024 revenue figures, which included $384.2 million from Elevidys, surpassing the consensus estimates of $334.5 million and marking a 112% quarter-over-quarter growth.
Additionally, Sarepta reported $254.0 million in revenue for its PMO (phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer) business, which does not include Elevidys product revenue.
The robust performance of Elevidys, a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), comes after its label expansion in June 2024 to include all DMD patients over the age of four.
This expansion has added two significant patient groups to the market: ambulatory patients over six years old and non-ambulatory patients, who together represent approximately 80% of the DMD population.
The analysts attributed the strong fourth-quarter sales to a surge in demand from these groups, likely due to a backlog of patients waiting for treatment following the label expansion.
Despite the positive revenue news, the analysts expressed concerns about the long-term market penetration of Elevidys, particularly among older and non-ambulatory patients.
They believe that the current consensus estimates may be overly optimistic, as they imply aggressive uptake among DMD subgroups that may not have as much supporting clinical data.
Conversations with payers have indicated a lack of enthusiasm for covering these patient groups, which supports Kapoor's cautious stance.
Furthermore, the analysts noted that Sarepta did not update its guidance for 2025, which leaves a degree of uncertainty for investors.
The Sell rating and the price target of $75 reflect the analysts' view that the stock may not be able to sustain its current performance based on long-term expectations for Elevidys.
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