Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 282,084 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,047 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Sarepta Therapeutics worth $34,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,105,000 after buying an additional 88,474 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,696,354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $211,910,000 after buying an additional 44,306 shares during the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 547.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 138,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,250,000 after buying an additional 116,800 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 1,649.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 8,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Sarepta Therapeutics by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 431,098 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,935,000 after buying an additional 101,253 shares during the last quarter. 86.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of SRPT stock opened at $106.28 on Friday. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $101.15 and a one year high of $173.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.54 and its 200 day moving average is $123.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.02 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 3.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRPT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $200.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $136.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $167.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Sarepta Therapeutics from $179.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sarepta Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.77.

Insider Activity at Sarepta Therapeutics

In related news, Director Hans Lennart Rudolf Wigzell sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,310,820.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,851,345.60. This represents a 31.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn Jean Boor sold 1,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $205,399.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,234. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Sarepta Therapeutics

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapeutics, gene therapies, and other genetic therapeutic modalities for the treatment of rare diseases. It offers EXONDYS 51 injection to treat duchenne muscular dystrophy (duchenne) in patients with confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene that is amenable to exon 51 skipping; VYONDYS 53 for the treatment of duchenne in patients with confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene that is amenable to exon 53 skipping; AMONDYS 45 for the treatment of duchenne in patients with confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene; and ELEVIDYS, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy for the treatment of ambulatory pediatric patients aged 4 through 5 years with duchenne with a confirmed mutation in the duchenne gene.