After third patient death this year, HC Wainwright cuts TP on Sarepta to zero

Investment bank HC Wainwright has lowered its target price on Sarepta Therapeutics from $10 per share to $0 per share while maintaining its "sell" recommendation. Its analysts believe that after three deaths linked to the company's gene therapies and trouble with U.S. pharmaceutical regulators, the stock is worth nothing. 

Yesterday, July 21, HC Wainwright analysts led by Mitchell S. Kapoor revised their target price on small-cap gene therapy developer Sarepta Therapeutics from $10 per share to $0 per share. Kapoor explained that he considers the company's battle with U.S. regulators "unwinnable" and "sees no intrinsic value left" in the stock amid the expectation that the FDA will ultimately require removal of Sarepta's lead therapy, Elevidys, from the market.

Sarepta had refused to voluntarily pause shipments of Elevidys after the death of two patients, insisting that the deaths did not change the successful initial test results of the drug. 

The therapy is used for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease where muscles lose their strength and the patient gradually loses the ability to walk, stand, and even breathe. Sarepta received approval to sell it in June 2024, and sales of Elevidys have since provided a significant portion of its revenue. In the fourth quarter of 2024 and first quarter of 2025, they accounted for about half. 

Sarepta's problems began in mid-March, when the first death of a patient taking Elevidys was reported. In mid-June, another patient died from side effects. At that time, the stock plunged 42%. Near the end of last month, a third death was reported, though the patient had been taking another of the company's drugs, SRP-9004, for a different disease, and in a phase I clinical trial.

Another plunge in Sarepta stock began on the evening of Friday, July 18, after Sarepta announced it would not comply with the FDA request to voluntarily stop shipping the drug. Yesterday, however, the biotech changed its mind and agreed to the request. 

At least five analysts have downgraded Sarepta in the past few days, writes Bloomberg. 

Deutsche Bank decreased its target price from $25 per share to $9 per share and lowered its rating to "sell." Deutsche Bank analyst David Hoang wrote that it may take years for the company to rebuild trust.

Analysts at JPMorgan reduced their target price from $28 per share to $20 per share while maintaining their "outperform" rating. They reckon Elevidys is likely to remain available to ambulatory patients (those who can walk on their own or with minimal assistance), as there have been no deaths reported in this group to date. JPMorgan analyst Anupam Rama sees upside in shares from current levels but acknowledged that “If we are wrong about Elevidys staying on the market in ambulatory patients, fundamentally, then this would clearly be thesis-changing for us.”

Shares of Sarepta fell more than 5% to $13.32 apiece during the regular trading session yesterday and another 8% after the close. This brings the stock's year-to-date loss to 89%. 

The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.