Mizuho upgrades Sarepta on confidence in Elevidys uptake

Investing.com -- Mizuho upgraded Sarepta Therapeutics Inc to Outperform from Neutral and raised its price target to $26 from $19, citing stronger-than-expected sales of its gene therapy Elevidys and growing confidence in its long-term adoption.

The brokerage said Elevidys sales reached about $132 million in the third quarter, well ahead of its $50 million estimate and the $100 million Wall Street consensus, despite a temporary pause in commercial activity and concerns over liver-related safety events.

The company earlier this year reported deaths linked to its gene therapy Elevidys in a non-ambulatory Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patient.

Mizuho said demand has remained resilient, with favorable insurance coverage and a “meaningfully improved” risk-mitigation strategy emerging through the use of prophylactic sirolimus.

The firm lifted its Elevidys revenue forecasts to $725 million for 2026 and $975 million for 2031, up from $500 million earlier, citing potential label expansion and continued uptake in both ambulatory and, eventually, non-ambulatory patients.

Mizuho also said it expects Sarepta’s other Duchenne muscular dystrophy drugs, Amondys 45 and Vyondys 53, to remain on the market despite their Phase 3 confirmatory study missing its main goal. The brokerage pointed to U.S. Food and Drug Administration precedent, improved post-hoc analyses, and supportive real-world data as reasons for optimism.

Beyond Elevidys, Mizuho highlighted upside potential from Sarepta’s broader pipeline, including SRP-9003 for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and early-stage RNA candidates SRP-1003 and SRP-1001, which are expected to produce initial data in early 2026.

The new price target is based on a discounted cash flow model through 2035, using a 12% discount rate. Mizuho said Sarepta’s current valuation offers “favorable risk-reward,” with roughly 20% downside and 50% upside potential depending on regulatory outcomes for its existing drugs.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Boeing wins $174M in U.S. defense contracts for engines, training
• ICE raises $3.71 billion in senior notes to fund MarketAxess deal
• Nordson (NDSN) PT Raised to $370 at Oppenheimer