5 Biotech and Pharma Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Steve Cohen

2. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT)

Point72 Asset Management’s Holdings: $170 million

Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s Portfolio: 0.74%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) focuses exclusively on using genetic research to develop disease treatments. Its products cover genetic mutations and muscular diseases. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mr. Cohen’s investment firm owned 1.8 million Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares worth $170 million by the end of the third quarter of this year. These made up 0.74% of its portfolio. During the same time period, 28 of the 867 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had holdings in the company.

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) earned $189 million in revenue and -$0.19 in non-GAAP EPS for its third quarter, beating estimates for both. In a November 2021 analyst note, JPMorgan increased the company’s price target to $130, sharing optimism for its treatments.

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT)’s largest shareholder is Kurt Von Emster’s VenBio Select Advisor who owns 2.5 million shares worth $231 million.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners mentioned Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT). It stated that:

“We ended our campaign in Sarepta Therapeutics. Sarepta Therapeutics is a leader in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) drug development. Shares were pressured during the quarter amid a disappointing clinical trial outcome for its DMD gene therapy. We believe the odds of FDA approval for this therapy are lower and the timeline longer. Fortunately, we controlled for this risk by keeping this holding in the GardenSM. While Sarepta’s pipeline of gene therapies for neuromuscular disorders remains attractive, we exited our position given this setback. We believe CropSM holding Catalent is a better risk-adjusted way to participate in these opportunities. Catalent is a leader in gene therapy manufacturing and one of Sarepta’s key partners.”